Beginnings of Magic and Chakra
by claretyj
Summary: Team Minato recieves a strange S-rank mission that gets more and more complicated as time pass by. With the war that is threatening to break out between Konoha and Iwa, will they manage to plough through this? HP Naruto crossover. No pairings.
1. Majikku

Yep, another unoriginal HP/Naruto story where the shinobi take up a bodyguard job and blah… though I'll try my best to be as creative as possible.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

Enjoy:

**第****1 ****章****: ****マジック ****(Majikku)  
**

" ARRRGH!!"

Obito scrambled back up to his feet during one of team Minato's training sessions hurriedly and ran behind his sensei. Minato sighed. It was probably another half-hearted attempt at escaping from his training again. The program was going good so far; Kakashi had yet to bash Obito up again for the last two hours and no one was brought to the hospital, yet. It was when in the midst of blowing out one massive sized gokakyuu did Obito started to scream out and stopped the jutsu halfway, much to the surprise of his teammates. They hurried towards him at once, somewhat confused and a bit anxious at his behavior.

" What's wrong? Are you injured?"

" Don't tell me you burnt your throat, Obito. Mattaku... "

" Medical set's here! Which part of you is hurt, Obito?"

Obito gulped and pointed a finger towards one of the many fig trees scattered around the training area. A lone white owl perched on one of the lower branches could be spotted clearly. As the three shinobi watched it, it innocently ruffled its feathers and flew to a higher branch, where it settled down there looking much more comfortable.

" Relax, Obito. It's only an owl. Just a little snow owl." Minato consoled the poor boy, though still a bit baffled at his weird behavior. Was Obito allergic to owls or something? No, the team had to take care of birds in Konoha's aviary in one of their D-ranked missions and never once did Obito complained.

" ONLY an owl! Only?!" Obito's voice had raised an octave higher.

" Yes. It's just a stupid, godforsaken, tiny peasized owl.. Are you even a shinobi, Obito?" Kakashi skeptically questioned. A smirk was visible under his mask at his teammate's public display of cowardice. Sheesh. Scared of owls…

" Kaka-kun, don't be so mean to your teammate." Rin chided, brushing herself down and tried to play the peacemaker for her team. As usual. What would the team do without her? Probably fight to the death.

" I absolutely don't know why I'm stuck with this lousy excuse of a teammate anyway." Kakashi said, angrily rubbing his nose."One that is scared harmless little owls."

" ARE YOU A SHINOBI KAKASHI?" Obito screamed and waved his hands hysterically. " That owl has a letter tied on its leg! With that seal! Observe your surroundings once in a while, idiot! Snow owls don't appear during this type of weather!!"

" Now that you mention it…" Minato inspected the owl more closely. Kakashi was red in the face for being told off by Obito (Obito of all people!), though adamant, he had to admit that Obito was right. A letter was tucked neatly beneath the owl's leg, and regal red seal could be seen on it. Minato bent down to lift the owl up, inspecting it curiously.

" Sensei! Don't get to close to it! There could be an exploding tag inside!" Kakashi and Rin, the two most uptight people in the group, already had their kunais out and in front of them protectively. Obito was trying not to laugh out loud at his teammates. Minato smiled.

"It's all right, Kakashi, Rin. Konoha checks every everything going in and out of it, even owls." The two of them students warily lowered their weapons, though still apprehensive.

"Are you sure it's safe to open it, sensei?" Obito hesitantly asked, but his eyes were alight with excitement. He lowered his voice and continued on dramatically. " I mean, that seal…it's from Hogwarts!"

Both Kakashi and Rin turned to look at him, both voicing out their different thoughts at the same time.

" Just who or what, is this 'Hogwarts'?" Rin looked confused.

" Hogwarts does not exist, Obito. You've been reading too many stories." Kakashi said right at the exact time, flatly. Rin glared at him for doing that. Obito pointedly ignore Kakashi because he didn't really like that boy anyway. He chose to explain cheerfully to Rin instead.

" It's a school that trains wizards and witches! And they send their posts by owls!" Obito waved his hands to emphasize his point and waggled his fingers at her.

" Magic does not exist, Obito." Kakashi repeated, refusing to back down, scowling sourly.

" It does too! There are clan records regarding that!" Obito retorted, a scowl forming on his face too.

" You'd think I'd believe those pieces of paper that are rotting away in the Hatake's scroll room?"

" Well, I've read those of the Uchihas! It's true! My dad says so!"

" My dad did not say anything regarding those." Kakashi replied coolly. Silence fell within the group. Kakashi seldom, or rather never, talk or mention his father at all. Obito opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut at the last second, knowing he was now treading in dangerous waters. The awkward silence was broken as a loud snap sounded through the clearing. The three tense fourteen year olds turned, searching briskly for the source of the noise; Minato had removed the letter from the owl, which was now flying far away.

" SENSEI!" His three students screamed out in horror and shock at their Teacher's lax nature. Minato was always so relaxed in his hometown and he was supposed to be an elite jonin. Were jonins supposed to behave like that? Probably not.

" What? Nothing happened right?" Minato grinned sheepishly at his students' attitude. He took out a kunai and pried the seal off carefully. His students watched as their sensei's face turned grim as he read though the letter. Sensing his students' worried gazes directed on him, Minato quickly forced out another grin.

" Don't need to worry; it's nothing much." Minato waved the piece of paper in front of the Uchiha's face. "Obito…" Obito sighed, already guessing what his teacher wanted.

" Can't you do it yourself…?" He grumbled.. Kakashi glared at him, his eyes conveying a silent message on them. 'Find out what the letter is about, baka!' Obito grimaced; Minato was not known as the yellow flash for nothing. Snatching the letter away from him…only Kakashi could make it sound so simple.

Minato smiled innocently and shook the letter in his hands harder. " You're such a helpful boy, Obito."

" Hand it over," Obito rolled his eyes and made it to snatch the letter away from Minato, but his sensei did live up to his title as Konoha's Yellow Flash. Minato lifted up the letter at the last moment and Obito, with nothing to break his fall, landed flat on his face.

Both Kakashi and Rin sighed simultaneously, but with different reasons. Kakashi because Obito failed to get the letter away-of course, he know he'll do a much better job- and now Minato knew what they were thinking off already. No way would he let them snatch it away now. Rin had sighed for a more simpler reason, she had patched up Obito real nicely up after their training today too, and now he just had to ruin her handiwork by tripping.

" Uh-uh. Just burn it right now." Minato grinned, already figuring out his students' plan from the start. Obito stood up, still muttering curses under his breath, spat rather rudely at his sensei's direction. A small ball of flames rolled out and landed on the letter, lighting it up. Team Minato looked sadly at the pile of ashes on the ground.

" So now I'm a letter burner?" Obito pouted and huffily crossed his arms over his chest. Minato always made him do these sort of mundane tasks with his abilities. Okay, Obito had to admit it was useful for getting rid of evidences during missions, but for this…? It's not like any one would read that letter if you just crumpled it up and threw it into one of the many dustbins in Konoha.

" I knew you were such a helpful boy, Obito dearest." Minato laughed. Then he remembered the contents of the letter and sobered up. " Well, I gotta go meet the Hokage. Meet you guys at Ichiraku Ramen in an hour's time, kay? Our training hasn't ended yet you know." In the blink of the eye, the yellow flash was gone.

His students suppressed a sigh, turned away and started walking in the opposite direction without surprise, too used to their teacher often doing that flashy jutsu. They trudged across the now empty training field, heading toward the ramen stall rather grumpily, a bit irritated that their training was interrupted. They had to train for the jonin exams, dammit! Though it looks like probably only Kakashi would enter this year's exam. There wasn't enough time for Obito and Rin to enter.

" Looks like the wizards want something from us." Obito remarked as he spotted a streak of yellow dashing past and entering the large red building.

" Wizards do not exist." Kakashi scoffed and hurried his pace up, somewhat sick of the subject.

" They do too!" Obito ran forwards and engaged Kakashi into a debate on the existence of Wizards. It was a rather one-sided squabble, but Rin just had to smile to herself at her teammates' attitudes.

00000000

" So what they basically want is a team of bodyguards to protect this "potter" boy?" Sandaime puffed on his pipe and asked the elite Jonin in front of him, who was already getting restless by staying still in that position. Sarutobi sighed. And he was here for like what? Only five minutes?

" Yeah…but not just any bodyguard. He needs a team of at least someone who is below 15 years old." Minato replied hurriedly. "And preferably, those who are currently fourteen or below to go. Not some three or four year old toddler. But we can't afford to send such young genins for a year-long S-rank mission."

" What about Itachi?" Sandaime asked. " They didn't specify how many 15 years old we must send."

Minato blanched at the thought of Uchiha Fukaku's reaction on Itachi going for a S-rank mission. "Ano…I don't think Fukaku would be happy…all the '_my heir, the pride of the Uchiha, on a S-rank mission that's reserved only for ANBUs? Just what the HELL is the Hokage thinking?!_'" Minato did a very poor imitation of Fukaku's acting. "And… Sandaime-sama? Hello, Itachi is only 7 this year."

" He did awaken his Sharingan already." Sandaime reminded.

" He can't even be enrolled in that school yet." Minato said. "They start enrolling students at the age of eleven."

Sandaime sighed. " Then we have a big problem here…" He muttered absently and leaned back on his chair, probably pondering his next action.

" That settles it then. We decline this mission." Minato cheerfully announced, already twitching from standing at that spot for so long. He stretched his arms, looking very agitated, wanting to leave before listening to Sandaime's conclusion. " I'll send the reply back straight away!" Minato hurriedly rushed to the door with all the respect he could muster at these circumstances.

" Minato…." Sandaime spoke up from his desk.

" H-Hai?" Minato turned, somewhat robotically, already fearing the worst possible outcome, which was in his mind during the entire conversation.

" Your team is currently turning thirteen, no, fourteen this year, right?"

" …Yes…"

" And they're all chuunins already, right?"

"…Yes…"

" And they're already one of the top combat team among the chuunins, right?"

"… … I wouldn't want sound like I'm boasting, Hokage-sama…" Minato sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

Sandaime looked appalled." No! Not at all! Honesty isn't boasting; I even heard Kakashi is training for the upcoming Jonin exams already!"

" …Yes…" Minato sighed reluctantly.

" That settles it." Sarutobi scribbled down the reply and chopped Konoha's seal on it. " Team Minato will be assigned for the job."

Minato visibly palled. " No nononononono…. NO! You can't do this to me, Hokage-sama!" He cried out somewhat desperately, clutching the Hokage's feet to stop the old man from teleporting off and mailing the reply.

" Minato…get off me, I'm going to deliver the letter." Sabutobi patiently took a puff from his pipe and waited for Minato to let go. Sadly, that did not happen. Sarutobi could wait for the sun to set and Minato would still be there.

" You can't!" Minato's anguished reply came.

" Minato…" Sarutobi sighed. He wanted to kick the childish jonin away but restrained himself from harming the Yellow Flash. " This decision pains me too, but you know we can't afford to anger them. Your team is the one that best fits this request."

" Okay fine. Forget about my team. It's not about my team! It's about me!" Minato threw all his dignity down the drain and wailed. "… I hate that place! I loathe it! I absolutely detest and despise it!"

Sarutobi sighed again. Lately, he's been found doing that a lot in Minato's presence. " You're a jonin now, Minato. Not a genin anymore. So stop complaining about these mission particulars. Don't be such a fusspot. The wizards are a friendly bunch of people."

" That doesn't change anything! That Bumblebore guy is still headmaster right?" Minato shuddered at the thought of that terrifyingly kind ancient man. Not old, ancient.

" Dumbledore." Sarutobi corrected him immediately. Minato thought of that time when he was forced to go to Hogwarts with only Sandaime himself, the psychotic Tsunade and Orochimaru, their equally psychotic students, and…(Minato winced at that painful memory) and his sensei, Jiraiya. Oh, the sheer horror the trip was!

" Fine…you don't have to go…" Sarutobi said as he looked at Minato's tear stricken face, apparently having the same thought as the jonin.

" Really?" Minato stood up faster than you can say 'banzai' and practically beamed.

" But we'll have to put your team with another instructor."

" Okay, who?" Minato asked, not at all regretful that he had abandoned his team so readily. 'Sorry, my kawaii team, but really can't afford to accompany you on this mission!' He thought feverishly. ' I already can't stand a week there, forget about staying for year!'

" Me."

Minato happily turned to face the newcomer but recoiled and had almost suffered from a heart attack instead.

" ERO-SENSEI!?" He shrieked. " You? My lovely students, going to that dreaded school with you, for an entire year?!"

" Yep!" Jiraiya, self-proclaimed mega pervert puffed out his chest proudly at what he was doing. " You know what a big sacrifice I'm making already, since that place doesn't have any hot girls nor bathhouses around, but aren't it great of me to volunteer to baby-sit my student's team?"

" B-But isn't there anyone else? Anyone?" Minato was reluctant to hand his beloved team over to his perverted teacher. He bet Jiraiya'll make poor innocent Obito perverted in just one week. After one year is up, Team Minato might all come back to him tainted! What a tragedy that will be!

" The peace treaty between us and Iwagakure is shaky already. Most of the Jonins are dispatched to stable the alliances between us so that a war won't break out. Either you go, or Jiraiya goes." Sarutobi told Minato firmly. Hmm…which is worse, Hogwarts, or a perverted team?

Minato, with tears splashing out non-stopping from his eyes, walked forwards to sign his name on the form, much to his horror, earning him triumphant grins from his Sensei and the Hokage himself.

'You'd better be thanking me for this, you guys…'

0000000000

" Sensei is late…it's already been three hours…" Obito was swinging his legs out from his stool, his hands propping his chin up and looking bored. A toothpick was sticking out of his mouth, making him look much like a certain Genma.

" He's really taking after you, Obito…I'd bet he'll turn up and give us some lame excuse too…" Rin remarked, then picked up a few strands of ramen noodles and slurped it down. After all, since you're already seated down in a Ramen stall, you've got to buy some, right?

" I don't give lame excuses! All my excuses are valid!" Obito protested, spat out his toothpick before tucking into his own bowl of pork ramen.

" Whatever…" Kakashi emoishly said, not even sparing a glance for his bowl. He hated ramen. After glancing at his own bowl for a few seconds, he quietly pushed the bowl further away from him, so as not to breathe in the disgusting fumes of the noodles. They three of them all fell silent as they looked at the lone ramen bowl at the far end of the table, sitting innocently beside Kakashi.

" Sensei is never often late…unless it's something important, or it involves a certain Kushina-san…" Obito gave a cheeky grin. " ITAI!" He yelled as Rin knocked him on the head with her fist.

" That's private, Obito! Don't you know something called privacy?" Rin growled menacingly, but couldn't hide her smile that had appeared on her face. Obito blatantly ignored her. "Think if it's about the letter from Hogwarts?" He asked to no one in particular.

" Hogwarts does not exist." Came his flat and immediate reply from Kakashi.

" I wasn't talking to you, bastard!" Obito snapped back angrily at the emo boy.

Kakashi snorted. "Then who are you talking to? As the days fly by, you're getting more and more metal. "

" For your information, I was asking my own bowl of ramen." Obito smirked, suddenly in good humor. He lifted up his now empty ramen bowl and asked in his most magnificent tone he could muster. " Oh Ramen bowl in my hands, what are Minato sensei's plans?"

" What a stupid rhyme. And what kind of idiot talks to empty ramen bowls?" Kakashi asked dryly, after taking note of his teammate's latest antics.

" It was not!" Obito said angrily, slamming his own bowl back down his table angrily. " You're just jealous 'cause someone as emo as you can't even come up with one!" He glared at Kakashi who glared back with equal intensity. Electric currents could be seen sparking between the two.

" Guys, I thought we went through this already…" Rin sighed. Her teammate weren't listening to her but was currently busy kicking, punching, pushing and pulling each other in a silent fight, so as not to draw attention from passer-bys. Sensing a familiar chakra hastily approaching the stall, and the rather loud cooing and shrieking of several girls, Rin hastened to her teammates.

" Oei, sensei's coming!" She hissed to her them. They stopped their silent struggle and immediately tried to straighten their clothes, trying to look presentable and not as though they had been through a fight at all.

" Fighting again, Obito, Kakashi?" Minato asked as he took the spare seat beside Kakashi. Minato could always see through their actions, though. No point even trying.

" No." The two of them replied in their most innocent voice at once. Minato shrugged as he broke his chopsticks apart and started gulping down the bowl of ramen. His students watched in morbid fascination, as the bowl was empty within the span of a few seconds.

" You're late." Kakashi said once Minato was done.. It wasn't a question; it was a statement. Minato didn't reply as he took Kakashi's untouched bowl and started slurping that one up too.

" Yeah." Minato paused and swallowed after he was halfway done. He sighed heavily, making steam come out of his mouth. " It looks like we will be having a mission."

All three immediately perked up and looked serious now. No matter how goofy or bickering they are, Team Minato was well disciplined. That fact alone made them the best…err, well one of the best combat teams in the entire chuunin level.

Minato leaned back and rubbed his temples frustrated. Only then did his students realize that their sensei was stressed. His hair was ruffled (much more than usual anyway.), and his jonin vest was crinkled up. What was worse still, his eyes were red and had tear streaks coming down his face, signifying that Minato had been crying. Hard. That only happened once- when he found out that team Minato was assigned for their first S-rank mission. They were embarrassed to call him their sensei after Minato had started bawling, soaking the carpet in the process, in front of the Hokage.

" We'll be going for a-" Minato started but got cut of by his team.

" S-rank mission." They said together.

Minato blinked owlishly. "How did you know?" The three of them simultaneously rolled their eyes. _Isn't that obvious?_ Was the silent reply. Minato grinned awkwardly, a bit disturbed that his team knew him so well.

" Okay…" Minato began." Since you know now, go home and pack up your things."

" Duration?" Kakashi asked.

Minato turned back to his ramen bowl, refusing to make eye-contact with any of his team and started to slurp up his noodles loudly again." A year long."

" One year? One freaking bloody year?!" Obito exclaimed immediately. Kakashi and Rin glared at him, kicking him on his shins simultaneously. "Gomenasai." He muttered.

" It's not like we're going to camp out in the forest or anything, it's a guard job." Minato said hurriedly. Obito and Rin relaxed a bit, somewhat relieved that they were not forced to wander through swamps for an entire year.

" So…it's a permanent place or will we be shifting to different places?" Kakashi asked quizzically.

" Permanent." Minato replied. "We'll be acting as bodyguards and protect this school called Hogwart-"

At that, Obito gave a shout of triumph," HA! I knew it! Magic does exist!"

" It does NOT!" Kakashi shouted back, apparently developing the mind frame about the 'no magic' theory.

" Unfortunately, it does, Kakashi." Their sensei sighed.

" Unfortunately?" Rin questioned curiously.

" Wizards are…horrible. Just plain horrible." Minato shuddered at his own little corner. " Disgustingly horrible and pathetic. So horrible and stinky that you can spot them a good fifteen kilometers away…"

" Umm…back to the topic, Sensei." Rin sweat dropped at her sensei's attitude. "What clothes will we be wearing? As far as I know, the school is supposed to be 'magical' and all, so I was just wondering what to bring there…"

" Just bring two pairs of shinobi clothes and a few civilian clothing." Minato said thoughtfully as he chewed on his noodles, ignoring Kakashi's shout of _'magic does not exist, you clowns!_' "And we need to get you uniforms and masks." He added as an afterthought.

" What? Why?" Obito pouted. He hated uniforms. They make people look exactly the same, especially Shinobi ones. Just look at the ANBU! And it was all tight and heavy, with all the extra layers of padding and amour. Team Minato had to wear them on several occasions, and Obito always complained each time they were forced into it.

Minato smiled." We're doing both guard duty and undercover work at the same time." He explained. " See, our primary mission is to protect this boy who is currently targeted by one of the most evilest wizard of mankind."

" 'Evilest' isn't a word." Kakashi interrupted. " And I still don't believe that wizards are alive." He said haughtily.

" When I say evilest is a word, then it is." Minato glared at Kakashi crossly. " And don't interrupt your sensei when he is giving a grand speech."

" Hmp." Kakashi sniffed and crossed his arms, looking away. He turned, only to face Ayame, Ichiraku's daughter, who blushed, squealed, and ran back into the shop house. Joy. Apparently, Kakashi had obtained yet another fangirl. He pointedly ignored the snickers of his teammates and sensei. Kakashi made a mental note not to ever visit this particular Ramen stall ever again, not if he could help it.

" Now, as I was saying, that boy's safety is our primary mission. We will have to go undercover and try to stick as close to him as possible. It'll be best if we could befriend him, but try not to overdo it, as it'll make him suspicious. Understand so far?" Minato tried to wipe his smile away by going back to the mission details. The three chuunins nodded. Minato continued. " Our secondary mission, will be to act as bodyguards for the school. Normally, more shinobi would be dispatched, but because of the shaky treaty with Iwa, Hokage-sama cannot afford to give us any more. So we will just have to be doing double duty. And that's where the uniform and mask comes in."

" I still don't get that uniform and mask part." Obito groaned.

" The headmaster wants the school to be able to recognize you clearly, thus the uniforms. And since we're doing undercover work and all that, we'll be showing our faces to the school. They can't see us as the guards too, or else it'll blow the mission. So that's why we'll be needing the masks."

" How big is the school?" Rin asked.

" It's a castle." Minato said. " The English ones mind you. Not those feudal kinds you'll find here."

Instead having of normal fourteen-year-old reaction of having stay in a real life English castle, which is getting all excited and stuff, Team Minato had a different reaction.

" NANI?" screamed his students, shocked at the amount of work that they'll be doing, guarding an entire castle! What's worse, it's a bewitched castle.

" That's why it's a S-rank mission!" Minato yelled back.

" But…but…sensei…we have to stick to that boy 24/7 too…" Obito wailed, already imagining all the hard work he'll have to do patrolling and inspecting every nook and cranny of the castle. " They're only four of us, and we have to protect an entire school, plus that boy, plus making sure that no intruder can sneak into the castle!"

" Nothing happens during the day…we'll just be patrolling at night. Not to mention we're just back-up guards. And only on alternate nights, mind you. Just to convince the students that there are guards in the school. And only if the Headmaster calls for us. The castle can protect itself well on its own without our help anyway." Minato smiled. " The headmaster also wants us to be present during special occasions too, just to 'show off'."

" We'll just have to hope that the boy keeps out of trouble then. Just for a year…" Rin said hopefully.

" Fat chance." Minato said at once, snuffing her hopes out. " Curiosity and stubbornness is one of this boy's main traits. He probably loves snooping around and does not know when to retreat. That's exactly why it's called a s-rank mission."

" That sounds like someone we all know…" Kakashi glanced at Obito. Who caught it and immediately had retort back.

" I DO know when to retreat!"

" Obito is well-disciplined by the Uchiha clan." Minato said. " That boy has been disciplined by his guardians in a wrong way, so bending the rules has always been…how do you say? Something new and err…satisfactory for him."

" This mission is just so difficult!" Rin stomped her feet in frustration as all the short cuts were blocked. Then she stopped her tantrum halfway. " Wait. Hogwarts is a school of magic right?"

" Yes…"

" And the boy is a student there right?"

" Yes…"

" And in order to keep close attention to him, we will…have to pose as students too?!" Rin gasped out in horror, her eyes wide. Obito realized her meaning and clutched his hair.

" I can't do magic!" He cried out. " Shinobi skills aren't gonna help us there!"

" It could for the bodyguard mission." Kakashi pointed out.

" Baka!" Obito started shaking Kakashi by the collar. " We are supposed to attend lessons! They still have exams! And I haven't got my sharingan yet! I can't copy them!"

" Obito, don't panic! It's not that difficult to do it." Minato yanked the frantic Obito off Kakashi. " Magic and chakra are the same. They just go by different names, that all."

" B-But they shoot laser beams out from a stick! I can't shoot out colorful beams with my chakra!" Obito was still panicking.

" The stick is called a wand. It is a tool that helps them channel the dormant chakra inside of them out form the body and solidify them into beams of light. With different words, or incarnation, the light will be able to do different things."

" How much chakra does it take to do spells?" Kakashi asked, his curiosity peeked.

" Depending on what spells you use. Basic spells for cleaning, stunning or vanishing takes up so little chakra that you can't even feel it being used up. The worst ones, the unforgivables, take up enough chakra for a gokakyuu."

" They use spells for cleaning?!" Obito exclaimed." What are unforgivables?" Kakashi asked." How much chakra does the wizards have? They're just ordinary civilians, right?" Rin pondered, all at the same time. The three of them looked at each other.

" Answer my question first!" The trio shouted at the same time, pushing and pulling at each other.

" Jinx!" Obito shouted. " Ha! You have to answer my question first, sensei!"

" They have spelling ranging from simple household cleaning to repairing solid objects." Minato had ordered a new bowl of ramen and was slurping up the noodles now. " Wizards are very lazy. So one of their main weaknesses is that they're very dependant on magic."

" My question next!" Rin cried, slapping shut Kakashi's mouth and effectively shutting him up. Kakashi glared at her for pushing him around.

" Well, wizards have just enough chakra as civilllians. The more powerful ones have enough chakra to qualify as a jonin. The headmaster, however, and their 'dark lord' have enough to last in a fight with…say even me."

" If they're so weak then why aren't declining their mission?" Rin asked. Kakashi gave her another glare for asking yet another question.

" Are you saying I am weak?" Minato asked, but was inturrpted by an angry kakashi before Rin could reply.

" Hey! It's my question next-!" He began but got punched shut by both Obito and Rin. Minato sighed at his team's antics.

" Well," he began, his mouth full of ramen. " We're called a hidden village for something, you know. We're not even on their map. That's how hidden we are. People there don't know about us, and we don't know about them. But the wizard community can expose us to the public. And their magic can be used to harm us too."

Minato looked at Kakashi. "And that brings us to Kakashi's question. The three Unforgivables can control you, torture you, or lastly, kill you by just uttering a single phrase. You don't even have to move your feet in order to do that."

Silence fell. Kakashi made a noise in his throat. " Pah. And that's all they can do?" Kakashi snorted. " Pathetic."

" You think so?" Obito asked quietly.

" We can dodge them easily. Light travels in a straight line, baka. Just lift up a mirror and shoot it back at them. No problem." Kakashi said. "Anyway, if one unforgivable takes up only enough chakra for a gokakyuu, how long do you think they can fight?"

" Hey! You're right for once! Even though I hate to admit it…" Obito grinned and patted Kakashi's head, like what you would do to praise a puppy. That earned him yet another infamous Hatake glare that Kakashi was dishing out.

" I am ALWAYS right." Kakashi said, shoving Obito's hand away. "And anyways, remember that this killing curse is marked as an Unforgivable. Not everyone will be performing it."

" He's got a point. Looks like the bodyguard part is fine so far, but the problem lies with the boy." Rin said thoughtfully. " If he's just a twitchy little runt that snoops around trying to play 'hero' with his friends…" She trailed off and her tone turned icy. The chopsticks in her hand snapped into two with a loud snap. Obito and Kakashi nervously edged away from their suddenly angry teammate. Mood swings…

" …We'll discuss about that when we see him then. Analyze him before we make any decisions." Minato said hurriedly. " Okay, you guys go pack up. I'll meet you tomorrow at the west gate at five."

" Hai!" All three members saluted. In a flash, the three of them were gone Minato sighed and turned back sadly to his ramen, his strong front gone. " And here I am saying that I didn't want to…"

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Hai! Chapter's done! If you must know, this is just a tester. If you don't review, I'll remove it. Review for update. Oh, and please note that I won't be concentrating much on this story; I have another that is yet to be completed, so updates may take a while. Thanks for your understanding.

And I would like to thank my wonderful nerdy beta…err…editor, Sakura, for her superb editing skills, though I'll have to put up with her constant nagging on my lack of sentence structure skills…


	2. The arduous trip to Hogwarts

Err...chapter is ready or reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.

Enjoy:

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Chapter 2-

**Hogwartsへの困難な旅行 (_Hogwarts he no konnan na ryokou_.)The arduous trip to Hogwarts**

" Everyone here?" Minato asked pleasantly and surveyed the young shinobis standing before him. It was finally time for team Minato to set off, and no matter how hard it was for the young jonin to accept that he was going back to that terrible terrible place, a mission is a mission and also because the client _is_ generous… The two teenagers shifted in annoyance at the obvious answer to their teacher's question.

" Not everyone is here." Kakashi snorted and crossed his arms. " Why do you even bother asking, sensei?" Beside him, Rin started tapping her foot in irritation as team Minato patiently waited for their last teammate to arrive.

" Sorry I'm late everyone!" Came an overly cheerful voice from behind. The three shinobi turned around, already knowing whose voice that was. Sure enough, Obito soon came into view a few seconds later and stood, panting a little from his long run.

" You're late, Obito!" Rin cried. " And not by a few minutes! By AN HOUR!! A WHOLE FRICKIN HOUR!!"

" Gomen." Obito gasped out, catching his breath for a while and then launching into one of his unbelievably lame explanations. " You see, as I was coming out, I got ambushed by a bunch of my baby cousins and- "

" You katoned them to bits?" Kakashi suggested with a hint of sarcasm.

" You went through the back door, which is like, five kilometers away?" Rin guessed.

" No! If you really must know, I henge-d into one of them and crawled through the cat-flap nearby." Obito said smugly, looking proud at his 'excuse'. It was exactly what a shinobi would do! Both his teammates simultaneously rolled their eyes and bashed their fists into his head. " ITAI!" Obito screamed, hand automatically flying over to cover his head.

" Bunch of baby cousins indeed. You've only got one." Kakashi snorted. " And which dignified shinobi would be willing to crawl through the cat flap?"

" Excuse me, but I don't consider myself as 'dignified'. Shinobis are supposed to do anything possible to escape anyway. No one cares about pride." Obito retorted back." And even thought it was only one, you have absolutely no idea how hard it was to escape from its clutches."

" Like we'd believe that, idiot! Your aunty only gave birth a few months ago!" Rin snapped. " You're late for a S ranked mission! S ranked! Punctuality is extremely important here!"

" I can't help it if my house is at the opposite side of the village and deserted from everyone else." Obito muttered sourly. " Go blame the Hokage for putting it there."

" Mah, mah, mah. Now that Obito is finally here, why don't we set off to the meeting point?" Minato interrupted his squabbling team and shifted his backpack briefly before walking off at a swift but comfortable pace. His students immediately shut up and began imitating him.

After a short while, Obito spoke up, not one too comfortable with silence. " Ne, sensei. How far is it? Shouldn't we speed up a bit?"

" Nah. It's quite close actually." Minato answered. " We're almost there."

" Where are we heading to?" Rin asked, curious. All the three of them got was a 'you'll see' from an unusually cheerful Minato. And they don't like that one bit.

* * *

Rin's eyebrow twitched. " What…are we doing here…?" She asked menacingly and rounded on her sensei, who just widened his grin.

" It says so on the report." Minato said airily and shrugged. " Ask the client."

" B-but-but-but…This is the village's RUBBISH DUMP!" Rin cried." And it stinks!"

" Unfortunately." Minato shrugged. " But our destination is a little bit…further."

" Then what are we doing here?" Rin cried, peeved off about having come to this desolate part of the village. " This wouldn't be a S- ranked mission!"

" Rin, cool down." Kakashi said, his voice a bit muffled.

To his right, Obito nodded his head vigorously. " Yeah. I'm sure sensei has his reasons." His voice was just as squashed as Kakashi. Both boys had their fingers tightly clamped over their noses. Rin sighed, knowing that they are just as peeved off as her for coming to this part of the village.

" Thank you, Obito, Kakashi." Minato grinned and went over to roughly mess their hair up. Both immediately pushed their sensei's hand away and glared at him. _'You owe us an explanation. NOW.'_

" Okay, okay. Fine." Minato cleared his throat. " Your task for now is to go there and find a kunai."

" For what?" Obito asked. " We have lots of kunai with us."

" It's too complicated to explain, but we need a particular one. Just do it." Minato said. " It's ragged, blunt, and rusty. Oh, and it has detailed engravings on it's handle. Go, go." Minato shushed them off as he leant against a tree and made himself comfy as his team shushin off, glaring slightly at him for giving them such a vague description. .

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin went there and gave a brief scan of the dump. Their eyes popped out as they spotted a large pile of discarded kunai and shuriken, messily stacked up under the 'metals' section. Cursing their sensei, they headed over to that pile and started sorting through them. Those weapons better be blunt, or else.

* * *

" Well?" Minato asked expectantly as he closed the storybook he was reading as his team went off to find the kunai. (And no, it was not icha-icha. Minato would kill himself first before even opening one of his sensei's perverted books.)

Three pairs of angry eyes glared back at him. The three chuunin's bodies had cuts and scratches, their clothes had dirt and grime smeared all over and giving off a sight stench. Minato's hand immediately flew over to cover his nose, making the glares directed to him intensify. With a slight snarl, Obito shoved an extremely dull and ragged looking kunai into his sensei's face. Engraved pattern on the handle…yup. This was definitely it.

" There was a pile of new, sharpened kunai at the top!" Obito complained loudly. " And the whole thing fell on me!"

" It fell on us too, Obito." Rin said composedly, though she was clenching and unclenching her fists.

" Good job guys! Took you only half an hour! Not bad!" Minato smiled, hand still clamped on his nose. His team glared at him again for having the cleanest clothes out of the three. Minato quickly thought of something to say to make them hate him less. " Uhh…I guess this activity allows you to refill your weaponry free of charge…? Free Kunai, nice."

" We've already refilled ours yesterday. There's no space for more."

Minato sighed. Why must his team always be so…negative? " Hurry up now, we only got a few minutes to spare." He said, giving up on cheering them up. Let them brood for a while; Obito can't last long with face looking like that. Minato shunshin off. Rin and Kakashi immediately sprinted after their sensei, glad to be finally taking off.

" Where are we going? We're not even close to any village at all!" Obito whined for a while, and then took off after his sensei and teammates.

The journey wasn't eventful, to say the least. Unless you want to count Obito's infrequent whining of 'where are we going?' and ' Are we there yet?'. But Minato only shook his head and smiled in response. He was acting too secretive for the chuunin's liking. After a few long hours of non-stop running and tree hopping, team Minato finally stopped just as the sun began to set.

" Where are we?" Obito asked and looked around him. " Sheesh, we didn't even stop for lunch."

" Obito, can you stop complaining?" Rin sighed. " You know very well that we've been trained to go off food for at least two to three days."

" Okay, okay, I got it. So were are we?" Obito re-asked his question. All three chuunins looked around and scrutinized the place. It was a barren flat plain and there was a large man made circular stone floor in the middle. And in the middle of the stone floor, a raised platform stood, half eroded. The entire thing was so old and bizarre looking, but the three of them were sure that they have never seen anything like this before. Anyone would remember coming across this monument.

" I…have no idea." Rin dumbly replied. On closer inspection, the stone had to be very old, since it was all bumpy and dull.

" There are runes on the floor." Kakashi said, brushing away some sand on the floor. " But this thing's so old, it's barely legible now."

" Nice eh?" Minato cheerfully called out to his team, glad that their curiously and the long run here has softened their anger a bit. " Oh, don't worry about the runes. I can patch those up."

" Sensei, where are we?" Obito asked this question for the third time. Three is the magic number, because finally, the Uchiha got an answer from his sensei.

" Oh, this?" Minato asked. " This is the of Leaf, Grass, Stone, and Waterfall villages."

" We're in the center border of Konoha, Taka, Iwa and Kuso?" Rin immediately asked, catching up rather fast.

" That's the middle of all hidden villages." Kakashi frowned, having memorized the shinobi map a long time ago.

" Yup." Minato beamed. Kakashi was as fast as ever. " To be exact, that, " He pointed to the platform, "is the center."

" And what are we doing here?" Kakashi said, glancing around. " This is a wide empty area and almost at the end of Konoha's border. We might get ambushed."

" To get to our client of course. What else? Besides, no one ever comes through here, so don't worry about other passer-bys." Minato grinned. " Okay, since you ran so much today, why don't you all take a break? Go find a snack to eat or something. We're having an extremely late supper."

" Okay…" The three chuunins quizzically plopped their bags down at the edge of the rune floor and looked at their sensei. " Then what will you be doing, sensei?"

" Oh me? I'll have to redraw the runes. This will take some time. Catch a pigeon for me, will you?" Minato smiled as his team nodded and ran off into the nearby forest. _'So cute, so obedient.'_ He smiled, but it turned into a frown as soon as he looked at the floor. _' I will kill the Hokage once I'm done with this mission.'_ He thought angrily as he took out a kunai and started to carve into the stone, redrawing the entire floor.

" Sensei sure is hardworking today, ne?" Obito said as Rin started to grill the pigeons, Kakashi helping her fan the flames.

" Yeah, but he's the only one able to do this sort of thing. Repairing those seals like that." Rin replied. " No wonder why they chose him for this mission."

" He's not the only one." Obito said as he chewed on the finished bird. " I'm sure there are other sealers in Konoha…the Uchiha clan leader is one too."

" He's the second fastest and most efficient in sealing work in the village. Especially since this mission requires a lot of seals and runes to redraw. " Kakashi said, turning over his own bird to roast the other side, not wanting to eat it. " Or would you rather want Jiraiya-sama to tag along?"

" I'll take sensei, thanks." Obito muttered. " That man will totally blow our stealth away. A good looking girl walk past and there goes our disguise."

" Seconded." Rin agreed, and they all went back to watching Minato clutch his hair and scream in frustration as he tried to solve an extremely complex part of the old runes, blunt kunais from the dump littering the ground. The yellow flash might act all calm and cool while leading his team, but there are some times he will behave babyishly too, making them wonder who was more mature.

They all adverted their gazes as their sensei started hacking the stone floor in anger as he realized that he mistook one of the runes for another, leading to a forth of the area wrongly drawn.

* * *

" Kakashi, Obito, go take over." Minato said wearily a few hours later as he plopped back down on the grass next to Rin and gratefully accepted his own bird from Rin, who was cleaning up the campfire. " I should have taught you the basics of sealing, and I've done all the complex parts already."

It didn't take more than ten to twenty minutes when the boys announced that all seals are in place. By then, the sun was already down and the crickets had begun their chirping. Minato heaved himself up and told everyone to gather their things, having regained his 'cool' composure, though he was muttering something inaudible under his breath and his hair was sticking out in odd angles from the stress.

" Okay, stand back everyone." He said with not too much conviction and slotted the kunai Obito retrieved into a hole right at the bottom of the platform.

" So what's going to happen?" Obito whispered to his teammates, who only shrugged in response as they watch Minato bit his thumb, drawing blood and using it to draw the Konoha symbol.

" It looks like a summoning to me." Rin said as she observed her teacher. " But it's far more complicated than a usual summoning, involving a large set of runes and all. Maybe he's trying to summon the client? He's a wizard, right?"

" Why can't the 'Wizard' just pick us up? This method is just too troublesome." Obito whined. " Since they have magic and all…"

" Idiot. Wizards do not exist." Kakashi said, earning an exasperated sigh from Rin and an annoyed snort from Obito.

" Then what are they?" Obito sneered. " Aliens?"

Kakashi shrugged. " I call them '_civilians with charka which they can't even control without the help of a stick'_. Nothing special."

" He's got a point." Rin said. " But I wonder which is more powerful, their 'magic' or our jutsu?"

" We'll see. It depends on how they use them. But from what I heard, it's not like they use their chakra for combat purposes." Kakashi said. " Oh look, sensei's done." Minato was indeed finished with his work, having completed a set of long hand seals, some of them not even being in one of the twelve basic sets.

" Sensei, what are you summoning?" Obito asked. " The client?"

" I'm summoning a-." Minato halted briefly for a second as he felt the jutsu drain away least half of his chakra. Finally, a large vacuum like, space-ripping hole appeared, neatly balancing on top of the platform, astonishing all three chuunin. " A portal." Minato finished, half panting due to the sudden loss of chakra. " Hurry up and go through; I can't keep this up for long, this thing is draining my chakra."

Rin, Obito and Kakashi immediately dove in, not wanting to burden their sensei by keeping up the jutsu and Minato did the same a few seconds later. As soon as he did so, he released the jutsu, making the portal vanish, leaving no traces of anyone having been there in the first place.

" Ahhh… we were expecting you." The serene voice of Albus Dumbledore drifted into the area. He had to tilt his head to the right immediately after to dodge a flying kunai thrown by Obito. Note to self: Wait for startled shinobi to calm down first before speaking. Dumbledore now found himself with another kunai dangerously pointed to his throat unwaveringly.

" What are you doing?" Minato yelped as he scrambled back hastily to his feet, only to find his students with their kunais drawn out and in the team's default attack position, cornering the client. Kakashi even had his kunai pointed to the old man's throat threateningly.

Dumbledore apparently noticed him and smiled at the familiar face. " Ahhh…a little help here, Minato?" He said in a casual and light voice and tilted his head a little to the right; not even looking scared or tensed at all, considering his dangerous position. If need be, he could just dissapperate away.

Minato sighed. What a way to start a meeting. " Kids, get off him at once." He said in a fatherly tone, though his eyes remained serious. All three pairs of eyes glanced at him defiant, and they remained in their position, unmoving.

Minato groaned and tried again. " Kakashi, Obito, Rin, get off him AT ONCE." He said commandingly. At once, Obito and Rin stepped back and pocketed their kunai, though hesitantly and looking sour at having their little fun destroyed. Kakashi stepped back a bit, but he still had his kunai out, face still set and body still tensed up for a fight.

" Kakashi…" Minato threatened, putting on a sour scowl of displeasure on his face, to mean that he meant buisness. " Off."

" Sensei, he might be a threat to us." Kakashi reasoned, but he was wearing a ' _that's my prey, I'm not going to give him up'_ face. " I won't move until I have proof that this is not an imposter. He said he was expecting us."

" Kakashi! He's an old man!" Minato sighed, exasperated at his student's stubbornness.

" The Hokage is an old man too." Kakashi pointed out." And he's the Hokage." Out of the corner of Minato's eyes, he could see Dumbledore was trying to cover his laughter with a cough.

" Well…Sandaime-sama still has black hair. This one doesn't, meaning he's just-" Minato paused for awhile to glance uncertainly at Dumbledore before finishing lamely. " –older." He could hear Rin and Obito's suppressed snickering behind him.

" Does Sandaime really have black hair, sensei?" Obito asked mischievously, his eyes sparkling with laughter. " The last I check, there wasn't any."

" There is." Minato replied instantly, and then added thoughtfully, " Just a few strands though." Then Minato remembered what he was doing before the conversation went off topic. " But that's not the point!" He yelled. When he turned back, Kakashi was missing from the spot he previously stood before. Minato turned wildly around until he spotted Kakashi slowly creeping up from behind an unsuspecting Dumbledore, kunai shining and ready to pounce. " That boy-!"

Just before Kakashi could plunge the knife into the headmaster, Minato had used the shushin and grabbed the boy before landing a few paces away. " What is wrong with you guys?!" He yelled, plopping an annoyed Kakashi down on the floor, just as Obito and Rin ran up to meet him.

Minato casted a nervous glance behind his back to see Dumbledore was inspecting the portal they came through, apparently very interested in it. Knowing that they're not completely out of hearing distance, Minato lowered his voice. " Are you guys mental, attacking any random people you see?" He hissed at his team, who at least had enough decency to advert their gaze. " I want an answer." He demanded.

" We wanted to find out how powerful this 'wizards' are." Obito muttered, looking dejected. " But sensei, you ruined it. He didn't even take out his 'wand' yet!"

Minato tried to keep his 'stern face' up and not laugh at their foolishness. In the end it did not work and he ended up letting out a chuckle, to his team's displeasure and confusion.

" That makes you think that he's a wizard?" Minato challenged. All three of them rolled their eyes at the stupid question.

" Well, for starters, he has a stick sticking out of his robes." Rin said, as though she was explaining it to a three-year-old toddler.

" And I can sense that he has chakra." Kakashi added. " Is that good enough for you, sensei?"

" Oh, and lastly," Obito said, voice full of scorn, " He dresses like one. Isn't that the most obvious thing?"

Minato buried his head under his hands. He should've seen that coming. It was all Dumbledore's fault for wearing such outlandish clothing. Especially that tall hat plastered with stars. What the hell is wrong with him? " Okay children, but apparently you picked the wrong target to toy with." Minato smiled as his team blinked.

" What's wrong with that?" Kakashi asked hotly. " There are dozens of other wizards around. Killing off one won't make a difference anyhow."

" He's the client." Minato sighed. " Imagine what would've happened if you killed him."

" That's the client?!" Obito shrieked. " Oh my goodness! What a lucky thing we didn't kill him!"

" We wouldn't kill him." Kakashi said. " I thought that's the famed 'headmaster that has enough chakra to fight sensei'?"

" You even remembered that?" Obito asked, shocked, and Rin nodded her head vigorously, eyes wide.

" Yeah, shouldn't I?" Kakashi replied. " These are the mission particulars."

" Oh." Obito shrugged. " Well, I didn't."

" Neither did I." Rin said. " Didn't bother."

" Wait, wait wait." Minato put his hand out, signifying a pause." What's that supposed to mean? That my speech is boring?"

" And long-windy to boot." Obito agreed. " I think I only remembered half of it."

" Sensei, you'd better go greet our client." Kakashi said lazily, before Minato had a chance to twist Obito's ear. " I think he's getting bored now." Sure enough, Dumbledore had gone from inspecting the runes to inspecting a dull looking and half dead flower bush growing on the side. " Oh and don't worry, we won't kill him now." Rin added.

Minato stood up and after a dark ' I'll punish you later' whisper to Obito, he went off to have a nice chat with the headmaster.

"Well, what do you think?" Obito muttered to his teammates as Minato went to speak and confirm the identity and discuss the mission payment with the client and blah. " Wizardly enough?"

" A bit excessive, bit yeah…" Rin said. " But I guess he's something like the Sandaime, right? Large chakra, knowledgeable, and old…yup. He makes people wonder if Hokage-sama has a twin brother."

" Like I care about that." Kakashi shifted irately. " Didn't you notice?"

" Notice what? Is there anything unusual?" Obito asked blankly and turned around, a bit scared that there might be a presence he didn't detect. There wasn't. " No, there isn't."

" The sky, idiot!" Kakashi hissed. His teammates were, as usual, unobservant. " It was night when we left. It's only about six here."

" Hey! You're right!" Obito said, glancing up. The sky above was indeed, as Kakashi had pointed out, still tinged with orange.

" Looks like there's a change in the time zone." Rin narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized her surroundings again, though this time much more slowly and carefully. " Must be because of the portal. Transporting, I guess. From one dimension to another."

" That's what I figured out." Kakashi said. "But I didn't know that sensei could do this sort of thing."

" Sheesh, lack of faith for your own sensei." Obito friendly whacked Kakashi on the back grinned, ignoring Kakashi's glare at him for doing that. " But yeah, me too actually. I think it worked only with the help of those runes and the platform set up. From what I saw, it did say something about donating blood."

" Oh wow. Obito, finally you can infer something logical." Kakashi rolled his eyes, earning him a glare from the Uchiha.. But before Obito could answer back however, Rin, or rather Minato, interrupted the two squabbling boys.

" Kakashi, Obito, sensei is calling." Rin urged. " It seems that he wants to introduce us."

Rin was right. The moment they got within considerable distance with their sensei, Minato grabbed the nearest student (which unfortunately, happened to be poor Obito) and patted Obito's head in what would be called affectionate, but to the shinobi, it looked much more relieved than friendly.

"Oh, and this would be my lovely team and students, Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi, and Rin." Minato introduced to Dumbledore, and prodded Obito with his toe.

On cue, all three of them bowed to the old man with a somewhat pleasant (except for Kakashi) ' Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!'. Dumbledore nodded at them approvingly at the politeness and Minato beamed at his kawaii team.

" So, you've got yourself at team now, Mina-chan." Dumbledore smiled at the yellow haired boy. "Lovely." Immediately, said 'boy's' smile vanished, only to be replaced with a scowl. Ahh…he last time he had met the yellow flash, Minato was only a young genin, and Jiraiya had affectionately addressed the boy by that name. Apparently, the sannin still did, because Minato's team perked up at the familiar nickname.

" You know him sensei?" Obito gasped, surprised. " And you didn't tell us, _Mina-chan_!" He mocked his teacher.

Minato, a bit flustered and red in the face because of the usage of that horrible nickname he had obtained years ago, muttered an embarrassed 'somewhat' before turning around and marching resolutely down the old path, making sure that he squashed a poor, innocent passing slug on the way." Hurry up, slowpokes. Unless you want to miss your dinner." He called out moodily behind him, still sulking away. " And Obito, I still haven't twisted your ear yet."

Smiling serenely at that familiar character, Dumbledore swept after the jonin, a snickering Obito and Rin and an impassive Kakashi following just behind. _' Ah well, some things never change.'_ Dumbledore idly thought.

* * *

" This is it? Man, it's huge!" Obito asked in awe as the stood right outside the entrance. A large, moldy, and crumbling castle stood in front of him in a very sorry state, most of it's ruins are still lying on the floor, untouched. A large, faded out '**Danger- Keep Out**' sign hung limply on the decaying door. Impressive. " It's a little old and very dirty though, you might want to clean it. And how many students are there? It looks deserted."

That sentence made Minato laugh out loudly, his foul mood blown away. To the jonin's left, Dumbledore snickered (why does old men tend to do that a lot? Sandaime too!) and both Rin and Kakashi rolled their eyes at their teammate. As clueless as ever.

" You should try doing this." Kakashi said leaning forwards, hands forming into a horse seal first then into a tiger, what Obito recognized as the basic Genjutsu dispelling technique. " It helps."

Obito copied Kakashi instinctively and immediately the view around him shifted, revealing a much more magnificent castle, with all four of its towers still intact and the fungi and moss were replaced with elegant ivy plants instead.

" Oh." Obito could only manage out dumbly. _' Crap, I must have looked like a total idiot.'_ he thought sourly.

Done snickering, Dumbledore finally spoke up, smiling at the awestruck shinobis (though they did a good job of hiding it).

" Welcome." He said, beaming as he did so. " Welcome to Hogwarts."

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**Author's Notes:**

Ok, chapter 2 done, please wait for the next one okay? Yeah, and you might want to thank my beta for beta-ing this...she'll be screaming in the comments section later. And while you're add it, please go support my other story too. Thanks! And err... if you want to comment, please make sure that there are no flames. If you don't like it ( because of the length, plot, my writing skills or just me, then don't bother commenting and just stop reading and go to another page.

So for now...ja ne!

* * *


	3. Charged Up

**Disclaimer:** Neither Naruto nor Harry Potter belongs to me. Thank You.

**Enjoy:**

**Chapter 3-**

**満たされる( mitasa reru)- Charged up.**

**Note: **_Go figure whose's speaking in Japanese and whose's speaking in English out yourself. It shouldn't be that difficult. And yes, not only I'm lazy, I'm also very cruel._

* * *

"Ano ne…" Obito grumbled. He received no reply in return. " Ano Ne!" He repeated, prodding Kakashi's left shoulder with his newly required wand from Dumbledore. Kakashi twitched slightly at the hard prodding by his teammates. Finally, unable to withstand the poking anymore, Kakashi snatched the wand out of Obito's hands in mid swing and brutally snapped the wooden stick into two.

Rin and Obito both gaped at him in horror. Kakashi shrugged apathetically. " You were irritating me."

" That doesn't give you a reason to snap my stick!" Obito cried out furiously. " I haven't sharpened that yet!"

" Good thing too." Kakashi replied coolly." Imagine what would've happened if you did- my arms would've probably been redder then it already is now."

" Now if you excuse me a moment-" Dumbledore began, trying to get on with the mission details. It was already being delayed frequently due to the hyperactive chuunins exclamations, squabbling and mini fist fights. Both Obito and Kakashi turned to glare at the speaker who 'dared to interrupt their debate' before hurriedly muttering apologies after realizing that the one whom they had glared at was their employer.

Dumbledore took their apologies as a go ahead to start talking. " Yes, now that the squabbling is finally over-" Obito glared at Kakashi, mouthing _'for the time being'_. Kakashi glared back. " Mina-chan is off to settle your -and his- dormitories, I'll brief you on why exactly you're here today."

Dumbledore paused for a while before continuing in a much more serious and gravely tone. " You know, part of your mission is to protect Harry Potter and help in our school defenses right?" Seeing the three of them nodding, he carried on. " But I did not pay the Hokage- even though he _is_ a friend of mine- four bags of precious gems and whatnot every year for a team of Shinobi. This year however, is special –the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place in our very own humble school for the first time in over a century."

Seeing the confusion in their eyes and Obito starting to open his mouth, Dumbledore held out a hand in a silent 'don't interrupt and let me finish'. Obito immediately closed his mouth. " The Triwizard Tournament is a game held to establish to ties between the different witches and wizards. It was successful of course, but the longer it carried on, the harder the competition became, and the higher the death toll rose. Finally, it got too high, and we have decided that the game simply cannot be carried on. "

Obito whistled appreciatively. Kakashi and Rin immediately kicked him in his shins simultaneously for the wrong behavior he displayed. Dumbledore's lips twitched slightly into a small smile, though it wasn't really visible under his thick white beard and moustache. He cleared his throat softly, regaining his attention over the Shinobis, and continued on with is dialogue.

" Usually, we will pick three champions- one from each school- and they will have to plough through three different, magical tasks. So this year, the wizarding community has decided to reinstate the tournament again. But with added safety measures of course." He added.

" So by 'safety measures', do you mean us?" Rin asked curiously. Dumbledore smiled at her.

" Sadly, my young lady, no." Dumbledore said. " Although I think you'll be happy setting the dragons out on our young champions, you must note that you are my private hires- not one working for both the ministry and me."

The three of them nodded again, already knowing this information- it was listed in the mission particulars and Sandaime-sama had already sternly briefed them sternly on it before they took off. Satisfied that they had reaffirmed their loyalty, Dumbledore continued with his briefing.

" You job here, is of course, to protect Harry Potter. There has already been strange occurrences happening at the beginning of this year- the incident at the Quidditch World Cup and Old Mad-Eye Moody's attack- not that you're aware of any of those of course." Dumbledore quickly added, seeing Obito was about to open his mouth to ask yet another question. " Just dismiss them as strange 'incidents'."

" Basically, strange things have been occurring, so I have decided to take extra precautions myself, partially since the old coots at the ministry don't believe me and my 'superstitions'. But then as they say, better safe than sorry, so here you are." Dumbledore finished lightly and looked enquiringly at the shinobis before him. " Any questions regarding _why_ you're here now?"

" No, not really." Obito muttered, looking around at his other teammates. " But you don't have to explain any of those things to us."

" Excuse me?" Dumbledore said politely, not really understanding the meaning of his last sentence.

" He means that the stuff you just said was unnecessary." Kakashi clarified, Rin and Obito nodding beside him. " We have already been hired by you. We have already agreed to serve and obey you for at least seven months. We do not need a reason to know why exactly we are being hired. That is of no importance to us."

Seeing Dumbledore's blank expression, Rin decided to reinstate the briefing, because apparently, the old man was probably deep in thought or shocked about the Shinobi's strange thinking habits. " So, though your very kind explanation was terrifically informative and I'm sure that it will come in handy for later references, why don't you tell us more about _what_ we are supposed to be doing instead? Rest assured- we'll do it to the best of our capabilities."

" Yes, I think it will be best if I do so." Dumbledore unstuck his throat. " Now, for the more crucial matters at hand. Since this year will probably be a very rough one, I will need you to serve as bodyguards for the school and also Harry Potter. But I want at least one of you in each of his class. Understand?"

" Yes sir!" Obito said, saluting." It was crisp, straight to the point and very direct! I like the way you speak." Kakashi rolled his eyes. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

" Thank you, Uchiha-san." Said Dumbledore, pleased. Apparently, you'll have to be very direct and sharp with shinobis- they don't like wishy-washy beat-around-the-bush orders. Most of them anyway. Dumbledore had learned that with past experiences. " Continuing on from where we left off, you are also supposed to be present in all formal school celebration dinners, like Halloween and Christmas, etcetera, etcetera. If we need your help in tracking or dispatching something, we'll call you- don't go around hitting suspicious people whenever you feel like it. So don't worry about an intruder sneaking in or attacking us. We have other foolproof methods of finding out if one actually managed to bypass our ancient barriers."

More nods again. This too, was all inside the mission file. Dumbledore clapped his hands, signaling the end of the briefing. " I believe that all your supplies are already in your room- feel free to use it in whichever way you like- not denoting it will be greatly appreciated. Oh, and the first time which you'll be on duty and also announced, is on the twentieth, Thursday, four days from now and the day before the arrival of the other schools. Probably during dinnertime."

Seeing Obito's open mouth and Rin's widening of eyes in disbelief, Dumbledore calmly continued. " Oh, you won't have to say a thing except wave- I'll be doing the introductions for you. It's just to make the school aware that somebody's watching them you know. Wear your uniforms." The three of them gave silent sighs of relief, not thinking that they will be able to withstand so much attention. Shinobis usually _avoid_ attention. " So use the four days to get to know your surroundings better. Memorize the habits and cultures of this school. Our library is at your disposal at anytime of the day. But bear in mind to keep the books neat and tidy- you could say that our librarian is rather…strict and overprotective when it comes to the welfare of the books."

" The other schools." Kakashi spoke up suddenly. " Are they fine that you hired us without their knowledge or approval?"

" No, I don't think they will be, will they?" Said Dumbledore lightly, shrugging the matter off with a wave of his hand. " But then, what is done is done, I can't get rid of you now, can I?"

Obito, Kakashi and Rin all gaped at the bold, audacious old man before them. Very intrepid. " I suppose you're right." Kakashi finally said.

" Well, I think Mina-chan would be done with the rooms and the house-elves by now. Hopefully, he still remembers his way around- goodness knows what we'll have to do if he got lost-" Dumbledore haven't completed his sentence before said Minato burst through the office, looking raggedy and ill. " Well, speak of the devil." Dumbledore said lightly. " Come in, Mina-chan. I was just waiting for you to haul these children back to their rooms. You do know your way back, I presume?"

" Yes headmaster." Said Minato drearily, beckoning his students to follow him out of the office. They did so obediently. Minato closed the highly embossed office door with a snap after muttering an 'I'll take my leave, headmaster' in the same lifeless tone.

" Sensei, are you okay?" Obito hesitantly asked his stressed out teacher, once they were in the dark, silent, empty corridors, well out of hearing range from anyone.

" Okay? Me, okay?" Minato suddenly shrilled out, clutching his hair and scaring all his three students. " How do you expect me to be alright? I'm back in this shitty place when sweared that I would never step foot into it ever again! So how do you expect me to me all right?!" he screeched. " It's always '_Mina-chan, do this…' _and_ 'Mina-chan, do that…_'. As far as I'm concerned, Mina-chan isn't even my name! So why am I answering to him anyway?!"

" Sensei, cool down…Dumbledore-san isn't really that bad…" Rin tried to pacify her vexed out teacher. " Besides, you've always been called Mina-chan by Jiraiya-sama for as long as I can remember, so one more person won't make a big difference."

" It's not just _one more person_!" Minato said shrilly, hair standing on end. " That perverted sensei of mine made all the house elves call me by that name too! And up to now, they still remember it! So now I have a dozen humans and hundreds of bald, flappy-eared creatures calling me by that wicked, repugnant name! So its all '_Mina-chan sir, what can I do for you? Mina-chan sir, would you like a cup of tea? Mina-chan sir, do you need your laundry washed?_' This place is driving me crazy!"

" I agree with you on that." Kakashi said dryly, watching his sensei dash to the nearest wall and proceeded to bash his head into it. Minato had never known how to handle stress properly. " Obito, go stop him before he wakes up a student with is banging and wailing or something. If he keeps this up, I think we'll be still here cum sunrise."

Obito took a deep breath and nodded once before he and Rin marched up to peel their sensei off from the wall. It was harder than it actually sounded.

* * *

" Obito! What is that thing?!" Rin suddenly shrieked out, unable to control her demeanor any longer. All was going well at first; Minato had thankfully managed to lead his team safely back to their dormitories without further harm. However, the main problem _was _the dormitories itself. Rin had groggily entered her room only to find something very, very unexpected.

At her shriek, both her teammates came running to her hurriedly to find out what was wrong. " What's wrong Rin?" " Where's the monster?" They asked anxiously, kunai already drawn out and bodies tensed up. They soon knew the reason for Rin's behavior, however, as soon as they peered into the room.

In the middle of the lavishly decorated bedroom, a tiny, out of proportioned creature with big golf ball eyes and large bat like ears stared owlishly back at them. There was shocked silence in the room as the Shinobi gaped at that ugly creature which was looking rather frightened at their presence.

" Uh…Hi?" Obito began, trying strike up a conversation. The thing looked pretty harmless to him. Can it even speak? To his (and the other two) surprise, it could.

" _Forgive Tim's intrusion, young masters and mistress, but Tim was cleaning up this room over here when sirs came in…."_ The creature spoke in a high-pitched, squeaky voice, which was rather unpleasant for poor Kakashi's delicate ears.

" What did he say?" asked Obito loudly, leaning forwards, straining his ears to listen more carefully. " I didn't catch that. Does he even speak human?"

" It's English, you dolt." Kakashi said irritably, rubbing his sore ears. " It had thought you would've recognized it."

"It's English?!" Obito exclaimed. Now that Kakashi had pointed it out, Obito realized that yes, he did recognize some of the words the thing squeaked out. " I did recognize it…I just…don't practice that language often, that's all." Obito finished lamely, earning him a smug smirk from Kakashi and an exasperated sigh from Rin. Why must Obito always insist on arguing back?

" _Urm…would sirs like your supper? Headmaster has informed Tim that sirs have yet to eat their dinner yet…"_ The creature, apparently named Tim, asked timidly and looking nervous, fiddling with the hem of the tea towel it was wearing.

" What did he say again?" Obito asked loudly once more, leaning over his teammates so that he could hear better. " I could only pick up the words supper and dinner. Are we going to eat? What's a 'Ti-un' anyway? Sounded like a doorbell's ring."

" Yeah, could somebody please translate?" Rin said, looking pointedly at Kakashi. She was looking a little bit sour at being kept in the dark, since she hadn't learned that particular language at all. " Come on Kakashi, I know you understood it."

" He said if you wanted supper since Dumbledore didn't give us dinner." Kakashi said, eyebrows burrowed, trying to decipher between the actual words and the squeaky sounds. Understanding English was not a problem. Understanding this thing _was_. It was piping so badly, how could anyone even get what it was saying, English speaker or not? " And Obito, Tim is his _name_."

" Supper? It would be appreciated. I'm hungry." Obito said, somewhat pleased that he had managed to get the gist of the question, for once, ignoring Kakashi. " So is this the wizard's replacement of a chambermaid? I preferred our ones though…much more prettier."

" Don't we all love our own gang." Rin said, folding her arms, irritated by the fact that both her teammates knew something she did not. " Okay, Kakashi. Tell them that yes, we would like to eat."

" No." Kakashi said flatly. " I'm not going to be your go-between. Ask Obito- he should know enough to start a simple conversation."

" I am not speaking English." Obito said adamantly. " I suck at it, and you know it."

" Hey- at least you guys can understand it- I can't and it seems as though I'll have to do some studying during these four days." Rin snapped. " Just reply him and get him out of my room already, Kakashi."

" _Yes, please deliver…four bentos for us._" Kakashi sighed to the elf, who immediately disappeared with a short bow and a loud 'crack' after receiving the order. Kakashi winced at his heavily accented voice. It looks like he had some training to do too.

" Good." Rin said. " Now, can you please get out of my room now? I have to go unpack some stuff…call me when supper arrives."

" Yea, yea. Sure."

* * *

" Gyaah!"

All three startled chuunins came rushing out of their respective bedrooms, _again_, looking ruffled and confused.

" Rin, what's wrong?" Obito cried, looking around blindly for his kunai before realizing that he had removed them a while ago.

" Obito, what's wrong?!" Rin yelled at exactly the same time Obito did. All three of them stared at each other in confusion for a while before peering out of the narrow corridor and into the hall. As expected, the scream had came from their sensei.

" Obito! Kakashi! Rin!" Minato shouted, sounding horrified." Who invited this thi-_ elf_ in here?!"

" What elf?" All three of them came out, only to find that Tim had returned with four bento boxes stacked neatly on his round head. He was snuggling and glomping on poor Minato's leg. Minato simply looked horror-struck and a little queasy.

" _Mina-chan sir! You've come back to see Tim! Tim is very happy to be serving Mina-chan sir again-"_ Tim was squeaking happily, apparently delighted by the fact that he saw Minato again. Minato only stared silently, gaping in dreadfulness, as his shinobi pants were slowly drenched with elf drool. He regretted that he had not enough sense to wear his waterproof pants instead of his light, cotton ones. His hands were twitching to his kunai holster. Kakashi looked at the scene, chocked, and started to made funny hacking noises behind his mask, earning him a glare from Minato.

" Sensei?" Obito said, eyeing the boxes, which were now wobbling dangerously on the elf's head. He didn't really paid attention to what the elf was saying; the Uchiha was more focused on his food. " I think you better remove our bento before it drops."

He received no response from Minato, and Rin hastily hurried over and delicately removed them, placing them on the nearest table. She went back and continued whacking Kakashi hard on the back, since he was still hacking, though a bit more subdued now. Obito however, rushed over to peek into the bento boxes. Mmm…teriyaki chicken…

" _Okay, that's enough! Stop now, Tim_!" Minato finally regained control of his vocal cords and brushed the elf off, looking as though he might puke any moment. " _You've done your job, and you may go now_."

" _Yes, Mina-chan sir_!" Tim saluted, wiped his dripping mucus off with a loud snort and disappeared with a loud 'crack', just like he did previously. Slightly green in the face now, Minato muttered something about taking a shower and hurried off to his room.

Obito looked at a very annoyed Rin to a still funny wheezing-hacking Kakashi, shrugged and pulled the nearest bento towards him with and grinned. " Itadakimasu!"

* * *

The four days flew past rather quickly, with all four shinobis having so many preparations to do in the first place. Dumbledore had kindly provided them with a few detailed and labeled maps of the castle, but to took the chuunins at least a full day to memorize the entire thing, with it's hidden trapdoors and shortcuts and whatnot. Obito was moaning the entire time about how he could finish the task in two minutes if he had his Sharingan.

Rin and Obito now knew basic English, and Kakashi managed to tone down his accent a bit, all thanks to the help of Minato. Everyone had read the book titled 'Hogwarts, A History' which was translated beforehand by Dumbledore, and though boring as it was, it was informative, so none of them was complaining, save for Obito.

Everyone gave exceptional attention to the different spells a witch, or wizard, could do. They had received their wands on the second day, and spent some time practicing magic, throwing hexes and jinx at each other, the other trying to dodge, before Rin's Jelly-Legs Jinx hit Obito. The poor Uchiha had to wobble stupidly around the room, cursing and screaming to his amused teammates about 'how he would've dodged it if he had the Sharingan' and 'how he was going to murder his teammates after the effects of the jinx wore off' for half an hour before his very own sensei himself came into the room, pointed and laughed at Obito, and then took pity on the boy and removed the jinx.

Team Minato got along pretty well with their assigned house-elf too, except that Minato would usually squirm on the spot if he spent more than ten seconds in the elf's presence. He would immediately shushin off to some random place if he over exceeded the time limit.

Finally, the day whereby they had to go and meet the school came. Dumbledore had told them that they would go as guards, and not as students first. Apparently, something had cropped up and worried the old man, leading to the abrupt change in their orders, but the shinobis did not question it. Partially because they trusted Dumbledore to a certain extent and partially because their uniforms and arrived.

" I can't wear this!" Obito said, staring down at the heavy, thickly padded jonin outfit, given to him by the Sandaime. " What does Hokage-sama think we'll be doing? Going into war? No way am I running around the school in that thing…"

" Shut up, Obito." Rin said, already changed. "You'll be wearing it once you turn jonin, so stop complaining. Sensei wears it everyday too, and is he complaining? No!"

" …Can I just wear the vest?" Obito sighed. " I like my jacket."

" Just bear with the thing for today." Kakashi said, tying his headband onto his forehead, already changed too. " And don't you dare wear your goggles."

" …I hate you." Obito muttered, removed the goggles he so frequently wore, and tossed it onto his bed. " Tell Tim not to wash it."

" Tell Tim yourself." Rin said. " But at least you're not wearing this school's uniform. Yet. Would you look at that thing- it's horrible! Flapping around your legs like that…how can anyone run in it? "

" Speaking of the school, aren't you supposed to be out scouting, Rin?" Kakashi asked.

" I did. Just finished." Rin replied lightly. " Nothing interesting, same topic all week. You know, Triwizard Tournament this, Triwizard Tournament that…blah, blah, blah. Haven't had any luck spotting the Potter boy, he seems to avoid crowds."

" Can't blame him though, with his 'shocking' past and all that." Obito emerged from his room, dressed in his proper Jonin outfit. He looked a little odd without his goggles. And he had tied his mob of hair back with his hitie-ate, whose edges were open, making it resemble a bandana of sorts. " They're all mental, I tell you. Worshipping a baby just because his mother managed to shield him from the curse. I doubt he even remembered what that Voldy-whatever-his-name-is face looks like."

" Putting so much attention on a child who didn't even know what was happening." Rin said, shaking her head. " They didn't even have proof that _he _was the boy who survived the killing curse- it might be another spell."

" Not exactly, Voldy seems to lack originality, does he?" Kakashi said dryly. " But it's all none of our business, they can be crackpots if they want to. And, it's almost dinnertime now."

As soon as he said that, Minato appeared with a small 'poof' in front of them, the bottom half of his face covered with a mask. Apparently, he was dressed up. He nodded at their attire. " It's almost time- are you ready?"

Obito rolled his eyes, as he and Rin pulled up their mask, which resembled the ones Kakashi frequently wore. " The way you asked it…it's as if we're going onstage for a performance, sheesh. Of course we're ready!"

* * *

" …I'm sure everyone of you will be very excited to meet our guests tomorrow, but remember to behave yourselves properly- how you talk, think, and act, will reflect the image of our school…" Dumbledore was addressing the school.

" It's not like he's doing a good job of 'reflecting the image of the school' either." Obito whispered. Rin and Kakashi did not bother to reply verbally, they simply kicked him in the shins as a silent 'shut up'.

" Will you both stop doing that?" Obito hissed at his teammates angrily. As a reply, they kicked him at the exact same spot again. " _Teme_! How dare you-"

" …Also, as a safety precaution, not to the champions but to you students, I have hired a few guards to help assist me and my teachers that no reckless behavior, which might lead to your unfortunate demise, will be successfully carried out." Dumbledore paused to throw a meaningful glace at Minato before carrying on. " So let us welcome Team Minato, who will be seeing us through the Triwizard Tournament."

There was polite clapping from the herd of students below. Obito took a deep breath. " Okay, let's do this."

* * *

" Wonder who he got us?" Ron asked curiously, sitting up a bit straighter so that he could see the 'guards'. " He didn't mention anything of this sort-"

" Ron, sit down, you're blocking my view!" Hermione said impatiently to the taller boy. " You're not the only one who wants a good look at them-"

" Shh." Harry shushed them up as he clapped along with the other students, curious as to whom their eccentric headmaster would choose. " I think they're coming out."

And sure enough, they did. With a loud bang and a poof of thick smoke. Everyone coughed and started gagging as they inhaled some of the smoke. Harry covered his nose too, but squinted to the front, just to see four silhouettes in the spot where Dumbledore had stood, apparently unaffected by all the smoke. Harry strained his ears to make out some of the words they were saying.

" _I think you overdid it, Obito_."

" _Oh shut up, Kakashi. So I decided to add another smoke bomb to it- big deal. It was supposed to look dramatic_."

" _It's not dramatic- you made us look like showoffs and clowns_!"

" _Okay, okay, relax. The smoke is clearing off- look_-"

Harry could not understand one word of it, but it seems that they were quarrelling. Is Dumbledore really sane enough to hire _proper_ bodyguards for them? The smoke soon thinned and cleared off, and the watery-eyed, half chocking students turned to glance at the appointed 'guards' who were standing just in front of an amused looking Dumbledore. Apparently, he could understand their language.

The 'guards' did not really resembled what Harry had in mind. With Dumbledore's eccentricity, Harry had expected something much more…crazier. After all, Hermione and Ron were placing bets that they might be a centaur or a vampire…Harry was half-hoping that it might be Lupin, but…oh well, at least they were human.

But though they were human, Harry had doubts about their ability immediately after seeing what they wore. It was not Wizards robes at all, but Harry had never seen muggle outfits looking like that too. Their attire consists of an extremely thick, forest green vest that vaguely resembled those safari guides wore, long sleeved black shirt and equally black pants. They all had some weird straps on their right thigh and they wore shoes that looked like it was cut open at the front, exposing their toes. Metal forehead protectors glistened on each of their heads, and all of them wore black masks that covered the bottom half of their faces. If that wasn't weird, that Harry didn't know what was.

The yellow haired man, who looked like the oldest of the group, stepped forwards and spoke in clear and perfectly understandable English, addressing the school. " It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Minato Namikaze, leader of this team. Behind me are my teammates, starting from the right- Kakashi, Rin, and Obito, and-"

" Oh my gawd! He is _gorgeous_!" The guy named Minato was rudely interrupted by a loud shriek from one of the sixth-year girls in the Slytherin table. Many other shrilling, whooping, and shrieking followed, from all four house-tables. Fred and George decided to add to the insult by giving off a few loud whistles. Minato simply stood there, arms crossed and a large scowl on his face and _glared_. Harry noted that his teammates weren't helping the poor guy, but just stood there, not doing anything. _Wait_, Harry thought. On closer inspection, their shoulders were shaking in silent fits of laughter. How cruel.

" Starting from today till the end of the tournament, we will be the ones ensuring your-and the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang student's- safety." Minato completely ignored that comment and had raised his voice a little to make himself heard above the entire din. " And if you ever catch you putting a foot out of line, you can be sure that you are going to be severely dealt with. And I tell you; we're really good at this job."

At that, several snorts could be heard from the students, especially those in the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables. Harry could see Professor McGonagall frowning disapprovingly at the students from her seat. He quickly looked for the guard's reaction. But instead of looking disappointed however, he was looking down at them, eyes full of what must be scorn, those ' Oh really?' kind of look. Maybe they weren't really all that useless, or maybe they were just too confident of themselves. After all, they didn't see what Fred or Gorge was capable of yet.

" Dumbledore's _mad_." Ron gasped, trying to hold in his laughter at the poor newbies obliviousness. " He invited _more_ nutters into the school- I thought we already had enough of them-"

" Ron, be _quiet_!" Hermione hissed angrily. She was the only person in the entire hall who really cared about these guards.

" Oh, don't worry about them so much." Ron said, guffawing. " They're probably gonna behave like Flitch's clones or something- snooping around and telling people off. Beside, I doubt only _four_ of them will be able to keep an eye on the entire school." Harry uninterestedly turned back to Minato's brief introduction.

" Of course, we're not expecting anyone would dare to do this sort of thing. And we will respect your privacy, really. So long as it's not a thing that might threaten your life, we won't interfere with you at all." Minato was saying blandly. " Got it?"

A few students nodded and muttered something inaudible. That seemed to be enough for Minato. He turned and gave a short bow to Dumbledore. " We shall take our leave, Headmaster." Dumbledore nodded, eyes twinkling. And in a flash, the four guards appeared to have disapparated, with a small 'poof' instead of the usual loud 'crack', leaving behind small wisps of smoke. Thankfully, the amount wasn't a big as the one for their entrance.

Harry quickly turned to an openly shocked Hermione. " Can't disapparate in Hogwarts, huh?"

"Oh, shut up." Hermione glared frostily at him, cheeks red as Ron goggled at the spot where all four guards disappeared, jaws dropping wide in disbelief. _Maybe they aren't really as stupid as they seemed…_Harry thought.

* * *

" You guys…" Minato growled, once they were safely inside their quarters, turning to face is students accusingly. " What's with all the smoke bombs? And the snickerings? Aren't you my supporters? I hate you all, you know that?"

" Yes, sensei." Obito, Rin and Kakashi replied dully, the former directing his gaze to his own open toes. Like all other Shinobi footwear, the tabi boots had a slit in between the big toe and the second toe. The split helped to make it easier for climbing ropes and scaling walls.

" You ruined my speech! Nobody ruins my exceptionally grand speech!" Minato yelled.

" There wasn't anything grand about it." Kakashi said.

" It is! Or at least it's supposed to be!" Minato cried. " And the grand entrance too!"

" …Oops." Obito muttered, immediately admitting that he was the one who had dropped the extra bombs. He immediately covered his mouth with a gulp. Minato cracked his knuckles and towered menacingly over poor Obito. Just then, a knock sounded on the door.

" You…will get it from me…later!" Minato snarled and headed for the door as Obito stood there, silently thanking the gods in heaven about his lucky fate today. Yup, team Minato sure got off with a rocky start with the school. Hopefully, they could regain their almost vanished dignity and precedence and patch things up.

* * *

Harry had a lot of things on his mind for the day. Firstly, it was because his Godfather was somewhere within this area, and knowing Hogwarts, there might be a high risk of him being caught. He didn't really want Sirius to be chucked back into Azkaban after all the hard work he did to make sure that he had escaped on Buckbeak last year. Hermione would be devastated as well. The second thing was about the Triwizard Tournament.

" Hey, what do you think about Dumbledore's 'guard' idea?" He asked out loud suddenly, interrupting Ron and Hermione's heated squabble about their usual topic- S.P.E.W. The three of them were sitting comfortably in the common room, in front of the warm fire, which was undoubtedly lit up by the house elves.

" Dunno," Ron shrugged, half relived that Harry had saved him from Hermione's vicious debate. " If the old man wants them, then it's not my business. If he thinks its best for Hogwarts, then it's fine with me. Dumbledore obviously trusts them, though I say just the four of them here won't really make that much a difference-"

" You're doubting their capabilities, Ron." Hermione butted in. " Because they obviously know how to transport themselves without resorting to apparition, or at least that's how I deduce it."

" How you know that's not apparition, huh?" Ron said. " Obviously it was, it only looked different because they just threw a smoke bomb before they disapparated, if you could just learn how to stop trusting all those information you've read in those books, then maybe-"

" Shut up, Ron." Hermione said, glaring at him, apparently stung. No blaming her, Ron was always too blunt for his own good. " If 'Hogwarts a History' says no one can apparate or disapparate inside Hogwarts, then it's the _truth_. Besides, when they 'disappeared', I did not hear the usual loud 'crack', nor did I see them raise their wands, so I think it must be just a way to hide yourself from others temporarily-"

" Like the Disillusionment Charm?" Harry asked.

Hermione blinked. " Yes, that's where I was getting at. Or maybe the Bedazzling Hex." She went back to the piece of parchment she was scribbling on earlier. " Either way, there's probably a trick on it. But what I'm trying to say is, you better not underestimate them like the rest of the school is doing."

" Hermione, you're just too serious for your own good." Ron sighed. " Just look at their entrance and their shabbly looking uniforms- just a bunch of muggles. Or maybe squibs. Nothing to take so seriously. Besides, they're on _our_ side."

" Why don't you try using some of those observation cells you have up there in your brain once in a while? If Dumbledore really hired them, then they're skills must be _good_." Hermione snapped, poking Ron sharply in the forhead with her quill. It left a black blotch there. " Tell me you saw it too, Harry?"

Yes, he had indeed seen it. The smirks all four of them had when they saw the Hogwarts students's disbeliving faces…the stances they were standing in…maybe they weren't the loggerheads everyone made them up to be.

Shoving these thoughts aside, Harry packed up his bag and made it to his bed, idly wondering, like everyone else was, how tomorrow's day was going to be. It was his first time seeing students from other wizarding schools afterall. And something was telling him that tomorrow will be an unforgettable event.

* * *

Chapter done. Feel free to inform me if you ever spot any mistakes, or if you have any suggestions for the story. I'm really sorry for the long wait, and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and that's you'll continue to wait patiently for the next. Thanks a lot.

So...sayonara for now!


	4. strange Incidents

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. Thank you.

Enjoy,

Chapter 4- 

**奇妙な事件****( kimyou na jiken) Strange Incidents**

* * *

The big day had finally come. Everyone was every excited, the anticipation was running thick throughout the air, passing like a disease. It was so contaminating that by the end of the day, even Harry himself was thrilled about it that he had poured in an excessive amount of exploding fluid into his exploding potion, and the entire thing had exploded ten seconds later, destroying the entire dungeon and reduced every single occupant in the room, including himself, and Snape, to crisp. Nice, sooty black and smoking like squids that were left on the grill for too long. Surprisingly, no one died.

But who cares? Point being, Harry was so elated that having had a thousand points deducted from Griffindor and ten full weeks of detention did not darken his mood. Everyone was just as excited as him, so no one blamed him. It will soon wear off, and he'll come to regret what he did later, but for the time being, no one could spoil his insanely good mood for the day.

Or so he thought.

* * *

" It is officially decided. Harry Potter is a nutcase." Rin declared angrily as she stomped her was down the shinobi's quarters, thundering loudly and wearing an extremely black face as she did so. Only Kakashi was currently in sight.

" Yo, Rin." Kakashi said absently as he flipped the page of the book he was presently reading, which was entitled ' _Ridding yourself of fangirls'_ by Glideroy Lockhart. What a sissy sounding name.

" Don't 'Yo' me!" Rin cried, yanking the book roughly out of a surprised Kakashi's hands and brutally ripping it into two. She glared down at her masked teammate.

After a few minutes and non-stop glaring, Kakashi blinked as though he had just woken up and looked up at her, as if he had just registered that she had just arrived. His hand slowly moved to cover up his nose. " Rin, what happened to your clothes?"

Rin twitched. " What happened to them? I'll tell you what happened to them, you shitty little pipsqueak!" She roared, shaking Kakashi hard by the collar. " It was that brainless twerp which we were assigned to! That pea-sized hebi-brain of his can't seem to function right!"

" I'm sorry? You don't seem to be making much sense, Rin." Kakashi said politely, a hint of his usual monotone was creeping back into his voice now. Just another one of Rin's usual random self-explosions…

Rin, if possible, got redder than she already was. " Look at what he did to me! LOOK AT ME! I'm covered with slime and blisters and burns everywhere! And you still have the nerve to ask me what happened!"

" Oh, there's nothing much to worry about, actually. You just look a bit more ruffled than usual today. And maybe a bit off colour too." Kakashi said, eyeing his teammate up and down warily. Rin looked mutinous. Her clothes were covered with at thick layer of soot, or some parts were permanently black. Her skin too, was red, and her hair was just as black as her clothes. She was giving of a slight odor of burnt flesh. It matched her black face perfectly well, but Kakashi didn't dare to say that. He had a pretty good idea of what had happened to her already.

" Nothing much to worry…?!" Rin said hysterically, shaking Kakashi harder than before with renewed vigor. " I'll slaughter you Kakashi…Of course I'm off colour! I'm _waaaay _off colour! And it's all entirely _his_ fault! I've had it with him- I quit, Kakashi!"

" Erm…you should probably try to cool down, Rin. You're losing your head over such an insignificant matter." Kakashi said. Rin relaxed her grip on him and took in a deep, shuddering breath, before collapsing onto one of the nearby poofy armchairs.

" Gomen." She said. " But I can't believe that idiot…he blew up his entire cauldron! Including everything in the vacancy! I know the point of it all was creating an exploding potion, but not to use it by denoting it on yourself, or your allies, right?"

" That's why it's called an S-ranked mission." Kakashi said blandly as he picked up the tattered remains of the book Rin had just tore up. He looked at the weary form of his teammate. " Rin, you'd better rest for the time being. Replenish your energies. We're needed at the feast tonight, so we might be skipping dinner. I'll cover for you for the rest of the day."

Rin glanced at Kakashi gratefully. " Thanks."

Just then, the door opened once again to reveal the usual energetic Obito. " Yo, minna-san!" He said cheerfully as he bounded into the room. Kakashi and Rin sighed. The peaceful mood was suddenly spoilt.

Obito carried on as though he didn't know why they were sighing- which he probably doesn't or is too thick-skull to ponder on it anyway." You guys won't believe what I saw today! There was this GIGANTIC squid in the lake downstairs and- hm, what's that smell? Did Tim cook something fried?" He interrupted himself suddenly as he sniffed the air around him. Both his teammates gave an involuntary twitch. Obito caught sight of Rin. " Oh, Rin. Are you done with your patrols? Why are you all burnt? Did you try to cook something today? Are we gonna have barbeque, hmm? What's for dinner?"

" You.…" Rin growled, her previous anger suddenly all coming back to her. She stood up and rolled back her sleeves. "Uchiha…Obitoooo…"

Obito at once knew that he had said something that he shouldn't have. He threw an irritated glance at Kakashi, which silently meant _' why didn't you tell me that Rin was in one of her moods today?'. _Kakashi just gave an unsympathetic ' _sorry, no time'_ shrug as a response.

" You want to know why I'm back and black, huh?" Rin drawled out sinisterly, cracking her knuckles.

" W-W-W-Waiiiit! Kakashi!" Obito shrieked. He quickly turned to Kakashi for help, but found out that his teammate was already at the door, suddenly ten meters away from them. _That coward…! _" _Teme!_ Help me!"

" Duty calls." Kakashi said smugly as he pushed open the door and exited the room. " I'm taking over Rin after all, and I have to return this book." He lifted the remains of the poor book, its pages drooping out sadly. Hmm, the librarian will probably kill him for this, right? Oh well, a little genjutsu here and there and she won't be realizing a thing. Until he's safely out of her reach and releases it, that is.

" The trio should be in the common room by now. They got half the day off after all." Rin informed Kakashi, who nodded in response. As Kakashi wordlessly left the room, closing the door with a snap and also sealing away Obito's escape route, Rin turned her attention back on Obito, who vowed to kill Kakashi the next time he saw him. "Now, where were we, Obito- _kun_?"

Obito gulped. " Gomenasai, gomenasai, gomenasai, gomenasai!" He said, bowing rapidly before his enraged teammate.

Kakashi closed the door and walked away satisfyingly as his poor teammate's screams echoed through the desolated corridors. Ahh…peace at last…

* * *

The feast had gone without any incidents. All that were required for the four shinobis were just to stand at attention and remain like that for two whole hours until the feast had ended. It was definitely very difficult, especially for Obito, to keep up with that pose. After all, this is a feast, and since it was a salutation for the school's most recent guests, today's menu had a wide range of delicious looking exotic dishes and drinks. It took almost all of Obito's will power and Kakashi's glaring power to stop Obito from drooling or dropping his required stance. Kakashi could see Minato and Rin, who were stationed at the other end of the hall, throwing worried glances at Obito, apparently bothered by the same thing. Kakashi even caught Dumbledore staring amusedly in their direction once or twice. This was so embarrassing…why was _he_, of all people, paired up with this nitwit?

The shinobis had of course attracted a lot of attention from the curious diners. Besides the newly arrived Beauxbatons and Drumstrang students, the entire Hogwarts assembly did not glimpse them at all since the last meeting, so they had invited a lot of inquisitive scrutinizing. Their sensei Minato, had received the most however- he was rather unfortunate, to be stationed where the Slytherin's tables were located, where he had been endorsed with a lot of cooing from the girls there. The Shinobis had ignored everyone, and only stared stonily ahead, making people wonder if they were hit by a pre-casted stunning spell upon entering (the shinobis were already at their spots when the students came in).

Kakashi inwardly snorted as he overheard the conversation the Weasel boy was saying to Potty. Sounded something similar to what a fan boy would be saying. Don't get the wrong idea, he wasn't ears dropping or anything- its just that Ron didn't know how to control his volume and that Kakashi's keen ears just wasn't helping much. And also of course, he and Obito had positioned themselves, discreetly as it may seem, right in front of Harry, so that they will be ready to defend him at any given moment. So too bad, Ron. But its not like he was interested in the topic in the first place…bunch of junk. Who cares if some celebrity has entered the school? Not him.

Apparently, from Kakashi's most recent observations, Ron and Harry seemed to have 'Jiraiya' like tendencies, gaping at girls like gorillas isolated from their bananas for too long and showed other displays of abnormal behavior- like befriending an overgrown man who evidently chews his own fingers off. In fact, every Hogwarts student has strange thinking and a large lack of respect- laughing when the Beauxbatons students rose to greet their headmaster? What was wrong with that? Dumbledore's behavior must be rubbing off on everyone in the entire school, Kakashi decided.

Finally, as the Shinobis endured those painful moments of watching those foods getting devoured by… demonic _punks_, and trying to restrain their stomachs from growling out loudly, Dumbledore decided to end their pain by bringing out the casket, but not before creating an air of eagerness and exhilaration for the entire school. 'Casket'? Was the impartial 'judge' a dead corpse or something? Maybe he was a vampire Apparently, Harry had the same thoughts as Kakashi, as the scrawny boy gaped at the casket in horror of whatever that might come out of it.

They were both wrong. The famed judge turned out not to be something from the world of the undead, but measly, old, worn out 'cup'. Kakashi sighed. They were supposed to guard this 'cup' too? Harry too, looked at bit crestfallen at that fact. No matter, it's still a judge, right? A rather immobile one, though. Hmm…thinking about it now, that would make it 'unprejudiced' to a certain extend, right…?

Dumbledore droned on and on about the rules and regulations about the tournament, which the Shinobis already knew about, before releasing the school, though they remained unfalteringly at their assigned posts. Some people threw anxious or apprehensive glances at the shinobis as they made their way out. Others looked rather doubtfully as they did nothing, even when the oh-so-famous Harry Potter got into a small tiff with the Drumstrang Headmaster at the entranceway, something that the boy apparently got a knack for. One might think it was an inborn ability, a kind of Kekkei Genkai that lets everyone get attracted to the user like bees to honey. Weren't they supposed to be guards, to protect this school, especially their star, Harry Potter, from outsiders? Then why are they still standing there impassively?

Finally, once the entire blustering students had left, and Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime had returned after tucking their students in, Dumbledore beckoned the Shinobis to come to the teachers' platform. They did so obligingly, appearing there instantly, bowed down on one knee. Karkaroff and Maxime, as well as the other teachers, looked surprised and rather amazed at that small 'stunt'.

" But what is the meaning of this, Albus?" Bartemius Crouch demanded." The tournament rules decrees that under no circumstances will any help be given to a particular champion, handicapped or not-"

" Aha! Dumbledore!" Karkaroff exclaimed loudly and triumphantly, interrupting Crouch. " So that was what you were planning on, eh? Hiring foreign support like these! No wonder Hogwarts agreed to this nonsense tournament so easily, I knew there was something strange about it all along!"

" I'm afraid you got me wrong, Barty, Karkaroff." Dumbledore said pleasantly before Maxime had a chance to get something else out of her mouth, which was already half opened. " These guards are not for the benefit of my school alone, they are hired for the both of you as well."

" And 'ow, may I ask, are you going to be proposing zis?" Madame Maxime said distrustfully, though looking interested as well.

" Well, firstly, they will be here to supervise the champions during the three tournaments-without verbally or directly helping each individual, of course," Dumbledore added as Crouch began to open his mouth. " When I say supervise, I just meant watching from the sidelines for anything unexpected to happen to the champions themselves. Not only for the Hogwarts champions, but the others as well. We have no problems with that, I presume? After all, the one paying for them is I."

" What an excellent idea, Dumbledore. How very innovative and sporting of you!" Bagman boomed, clapping his hands. Crouch however, seemed to think otherwise.

" Are you implying," the usual stiff man said, narrowing his eyes at Dumbledore, " that the securities provided by the Ministry is not sufficient enough? I seem to recall that you were the one who arranged them yourself, Albus."

" Not at all, my good man." Dumbledore said cheerfully. " Just take it that an old man such as me have too many worries on his mind, and doing this lets me be in a much more comfortable state of mind, thank you. They will also be protecting the audiences as well. The first task is dragons, as I recall. Magnificent but also terrifyingly dangerous beasts, they are."

" Very well." Crouch said arduously. " I will report this to the authorities when I get back and inform Weatherby. Any other complains will be filed to you, got it?"

" Of course." Dumbledore nodded pleasantly. " Now that this meeting is over, who wants a hot cup of cocoa?" He looked around. "No one?"

" I 'ave to go, my students are waiting…" Madame Maxime said ruefully as she made her way out. " Anuzzer time, Dumbly-dorr."

" Same here. After such a long and tedious trip and all… " Karkaroff said, looking subtlety disappointed that he could not 'frame' the Hogwarts headmaster. He too, turned to follow the tall Beauxbatons headmaster. " But we can have it another time, maybe tomorrow, Dumbledore. I'll be here till the end of the year after all."

" Oh, but I can stay!" Bagman said brightly. " In fact, I think you could too, Crouch!"

" No. Thank. You." Crouch said impatiently. " We both have insanely high amounts of paperwork at the office, in case you had forgotten, Bagman. You are coming back with me to finish them off."

" Aww…man." Bagman whined. He could not continue on any further, as Crouch had a firm grip on him and had somehow managed to cast a levitation charm on the energetic man, hauling him out of the hall, and instantly silencing others' excuses and complains he might have. Crouch was apparently determined not to let Bagman escape from his paperwork. They exited in that peculiar manner.

Finally, everyone one left, including the teachers, leaving only team Minato, who were all still in the same position as before, and Dumbledore behind. Dumbledore considered them for a moment.

" If it isn't too much, then I would like at least one of you all the time to be on guard with the Goblet- I'll draw the age line tomorrow. Catch any suspicious looking person who is loitering around this area, especially if they have intentions to do something to the Goblet. The students shouldn't be out of bed at this hour, so don't go easy on them, no matter which school they are from. You may remain hidden if you wish. I shall see you again tomorrow."

" Understood." Came four carefully controlled voices.

" Good, then I bade you goodnight." Saying so, Dumbledore swept out of the room, his long starry robes flowing after him, leaving the shinobis on guard behind. Without a sound, all four stood up, before melting seamlessly into the shadows of the Great Hall.

* * *

" Ahhh…" Dumbledore said knowingly as he entered the Great Hall the following morning, accompanied by Professors Snape and McGonagall. They both looked shocked at the scene before their eyes, though the former did a pretty good job of covering it up.

" Headmaster!" McGonagall said, sounding appalled and immediately rounding up on Dumbledore. " What is the meaning of this?"

" Forgive me, Minerva. Perhaps I should have been a bit more careful with my choices of words last night…" Dumbledore said contritely, though contradictory to his tone, his face showed not regret, but the usual bemusement it always held, and his eyes were twinkling. But of course, what took place before them was not what you would usually see every single day. Not in the entire Hogwarts history, at least.

" No talking back! And stop your pansy girlish fidgeting! _Are you a man or not_?!" Obito was barking at a fourth year Griffindor boy. Who was dangling dangerously four feet up, having been somehow suspended by thick ropes, which were bound tightly to his left ankle, and the other end tied to some makeshift poles, which were firmly supported by the tall ceilings of the Great Hall. In fact, if you took a good look around, everyone whom the Shinobis had caught were in the same, bizarre position the boy was.

So this spiky black haired boy is one of the four guards Dumbledore had hired? McGonagall did trust the old man, but somehow or other, she have doubts on whomever he had picked all the time. But his decisions always turn out for the better; she'll just try to tolerate it this time. Their entrance speech wasn't very impressive, but they possessed a strong aura of power- at least, the leader does. She has a slight feeling that she'll loose if she ever took them on.

She squinted- the guard had stopped in front of someone who looked vaguely familiar…and to her astonishment, the person turned out to be none other than the school's very own caretaker, the ever so grouchy Filch himself, suspended in the same fashion as everyone was, and still in his full mouldy old tail coat glory. The guard was currently antagonizing him, waggling a finger and making funny smug looking faces at him. Acting like a ten-year-old…wait, he did look young enough to be passed as a ten year old, McGonagall thought. How old exactly were they anyway? The masks had hidden the features and age properly. Apparently, beside her, McGonagall could tell that Snape was thinking the same thing too, frowning slightly, though he was probably much more sickened by the display of icky childishness before him.

" Now…let's see how you're going to fight back with me, hmmm?" Obito grinned sadistically from behind his mask. His words were heavily accented, but they were clearly understandable. If anything, the tone he was speaking in should at least get his point across.

Obito glared. This guy…_this_ particular guy had just whizzed into the hall during _his_ duty and demanding that _he'd_ better go back to bed least _he'll_ receive a _spanking_. No random stranger talks to Uchiha Obito in that tone, not a single one. He might look like a goof-off, but he still was part of the Uchiha clan, the one most famed for their haughtiness and rocketing high self-esteems. Of course, he'll have to inherit a few traits as well, right? Thus, Obito had given the spanking to _this_ foul mothball smelling creature instead.

" You'd better let me go, or I'll whip you so hard, you'll be begging for mercy, brat!" Filch snarled, wriggling and trying to break free of his bonds.

Obito raised an eyebrow. " Oh, really? But how are you going to do that? These ropes can't be cut easily without a knife, you know. Especially for a squib like you…" He taunted. It was easy to tell that his guy is a squib, since he had no wand on him when the shinobis had frisked him. And wizards never leave or go anywhere without their wands. Well, smart wizards, at least. If he's not a squib, then he must've been an unintelligent wizard.

" Its morning already, brat! People are coming in for breakfast, and then you'll get it from me, once I threaten a random little monster to release me!" Filch laughed, delighted and anticipating the probable outcome of Obito if he ever got free. That funny sounding _brat _will eat his whip!

" Oh, I don't think you'll be doing that." Obito smirked. " Unless you want me to skin her alive…" Saying so, he turned around and somehow managed to conjure a mangled and scrawny cat out from the shadows of the walls.

Filch face turned from anger to shock, and then to aghast in the fastest possible record time. "Mrs. Norris!" He cried. " No no no no, anything, _please_, _anything_ but her!"

" I don't know..." Obito said, looking thoughtfully at the cat he was holding by its scruff. " A bit tattered, but it'll probably make a good hat…for camouflaging purposes…its coat is ugly enough for others to mistake it for a wild cat, I think."

" No, my daarhling!" Filch yelled, squirming harder then ever with his bonds now.

" Believe me, this miserable thing is better off dead." Obito said, shaking poor Mrs. Norris hard, as though expecting her to cough out gold coins at any moment. Filch antagonizing wails could be heard from far away.

" Mina-chan." Dumbledore said. The called shinobi immediately appeared before him, crouched down low on the usual one knee position. " Hai."

Dumbledore blinked, not expecting his call to be received so quickly, especially when being called by his nickname. " I take it that these are those people who wandered in into the area?" He asked, without missing a beat.

Minato blinked, and then started to recite the mission description." Yes, of course. We took shifts and stood guard over the Goblet as ordered. At one thirty, Alderton-_san _entered the great hall, transfigured by a spell, but clearly underage and was heading towards the goblet. Then, fifteen minutes later, Belby Marcus-_san_ decided to lead a small group of four of his fellow Ravenclaws. They were cleverly disguised, but we managed to catch them just in time when they released the spell after finding out that the age line has not been drawn yet. At two o three, Bulstrode Millicent- _san _entered, not disguised at all and making a pathetic beeline for the Goblet. I caught her, of course. Brocklehurst Mandy- _san_ entered at two forty, during Kakashi's watch. Apparently from what he told me, she was looking for somebody in Belby- _san_'s group. Finnigan Seamus- _san_ wandered in shortly after at two fifty. He actually attacked Kakashi when he spotted him, and thus, had to be tightly binded even after we stripped him off his items. Apperantly, he thought that Kakashi was the restiction you placed for the Goblet. Kyodai Creevey Colin and Dennis- _san_ sneaked in during Rin's watch at three twenty seven, and-"

" Okay Mina-chan, that is enough. I trust you, so I'll take your word for it." Dumbledore said. Minato looked shocked that someone had inturrupted his 'grand and brilliantly detailed' mission report, but managed to stop his face from showing it and gave a tight nod. Dumbledore carried on. "I couldn't stop myself for asking, but why is our caretaker, Mr. Filch, here?"

Minato jerked his head up slightly before lowering it back to its original position and reciting, " Filch Argus- _san_ entered at four fifty six, during Obito's watch. He caused quite a bit of a ruckus and refused to quieten down, no matter how we tried to pacify him. Afraid that he will wake other students up and disturb our work, we had no other choice but to bind him up as well."

" Yes, he usually tends to…overreact at some times." Dumbledore said, looking thoughtful for a moment. He turned back to Minato. " You had them disarmed, of course?"

Minato nodded. " After being tied up and having their particullars extracted, we also had every single one throughly frisked, their wands, together with several…weapons they carry."

" May I see them?"

Minato gave another nod, and withdrew a small scroll from one of the scroll compartments in his jonin vest. In one swift and single movement, he untied the scroll, bit his finger, drawing blood (to the shock of both Snape and McGonagall), and swiped the bitten finger across the scroll. Once that was done, a load of items immediately appeared with a poof of smoke, falling pell mell onto the floor and clustered around the professor's feet.

Some of the junks were revealers, poisonous candles, and even stupider ones like exploding snap packs. At least the students were creative enough to throw exploding cards at the shinobis. Dumbledore's eyeborws rose slightly as he caught a few dungbombs and stink pellets, and even the newly restricted fanged frisbees and ever-bashing boomerangs, which were all sliced cleanly into half, making them pretty much useless and immobile. He had a good idea of what had happened to them. Minato handed him a separate bag, which had all the wands inside, each of them neatly labelled with the user's particullars. Impressive.

" Oh, and another thing…not that I minded much about it, but why this particular method of punishment?" Dumbledore asked mildly.

" I'll give you an example. Obito!" Minato ordered. The Uchiha gave a nod at once and turned back to the wriggling Filch.

" You heard the coach! Twenty-five dangling sit ups now, and don't do it like a sissy!" Obito barked loudly to a bewildered Filch. Seeing the reluctant look on the old caretaker's face Obito leaned in closer and whispered. " If you don't do it, I'm sure I could earn quite a small fortune by selling your cat to a butcher…and I know quite a few who pays generously, you know…"

At the threat, Filch's eyes widen in horror, and were threatening to pop out of their sockets at any moment. " Yes, sir! I'm on it, sir!" Saying so, he began a series of furious but sloppy sit ups. " One! Two! Threee! Four..!"

Obito looked shocked at the ugly display that Filch was showing- that guy was already panting at _eight_! Even those students in the academy could give a much more better quality work. He could only turn and gave a cheesy but somewhat apologetic smile to his teacher and client.

" This is a basic method of pumishment for our academy students in Konoha. Apparently, it also serves as a method of training the ninja's stamina, so we make them do this rather that writing lines." Minato explained, trying to cover up the not-so-refined way the method was displayed. What kind of model did Obito pick? Of all the freaking people in the entire hall, he had to choose the most unfit of them all. Behind him, Filch's gasps and wheezes were now clearly audible and echoed loudly in the Great Hall, waking students who were snoozing off despite of the akward position they were in.

Minato inwardly cursed. The little horrors would have a good view the shinobis at their current positions now, especially when daylight is sweeping into the castles' windows. He already saw Obito discretly sliding into the dark shadows at the corners of the hall at the corner of his eye, leaving Filch to unknowingly continue on with his 'sit ups'.(" Eleven…pant…pant…pant…Tweee…lvee…pant…pant…pant…Thiiiir….teeeen…")

" Ah. I see. Very well. Students will probably be heading down soon. If it's not too much to ask, would you release them from their bonds and return these wands to their proper owners?" Dumbledore said, handing the bag back to the Jonin. Students had already realized that their Headmaster was there, and though some had the decency to look abashed by being caught, others were avidly watching the converstation and craning their necks to get a better view of the shinobis.

" Understood." Minato said, standing up. " You heard him, Obito, Kakashi, Rin."

Three figures slid smoothly out from the shadows, two immediately flickered, disappearing and reappearing at opposite ends of the hall's tall celing where the poles were located, and lowering them slightly, so that everyone's upper body was touching the floor. Again, they flickered and reappeared at the two ends of the poles.

The last figure, one of a girl, lazily tossed two sharp looking projectiles at both strings. They sliced through them cleanly, the two boys catching one each and then pocketing them. Everyone suddenly found themselves free, as the boys went up again to raise the poles back to their original positions, and also cutting off the excess ropes and knots which were still dangling on it. _Manually. _Come to think of it, they were all caught and binded manually too…were these people _muggles_?! Utterly unbelievable.

Eveyone rubbed their ankles and heads to get their blood circulating properly and also, getting used to having their feet back on the ground, and Filch immediately went to wrap his dear Mrs. Norris in a 'lovingly'tight and painful embrace (one of the guards twitched slightly after seeing that particular scene). Dumbledore, followed closely by McGonagall and Snape, headed to the teacher's table. The first of the food were already starting to appear as the house elfs started cooking breakfast. Noises could already be heard from outside the hall- early birds were probably wondering why the large doors aren't open at this hour yet. Dumbledore called for attention.

" As I am running short of time now, I'll make it straight to the point then. I have already warned you that underage students are clearly prohibitted from entering the tournament. Everyone here is all clearly underage. What is worse is that most of you even tried to don on a disguise to enter yourself. Furthermore, the school rules has clearly stated that no one is allowed to leave their common room after eleven, ten for the first and second years. You have already been warned, and also, punished accordingly. I will not do anything more, as I believed that the punishement you have received by our guards are more than enough, do you agree?" He finished lightly, looking at all the sleepy faces around him.

A chorus of sullen and weary 'Yes' rang out. Dumbledore beamed. " Good! You may leave as soon as you reclaim your wands from Minato, who is standing at the side over there. You remember him, I'm sure?"

A few more scattered 'yes' were heard as the bedraggled group dragged themselves to were Minato was located. He simply pointed to the bag sitting at the Griffindor table and the clustered around there, searching for their wands. Afterwards, some chose to head directly over to their respective tables for breakfast, while others went to the doors, hoping to get a few winks before class starts. Dumbledore himself was concentrating on drawing the age line around the Goblet, and McGonagall was marching briskly down the asle to open the doors, flicking her wand as she went, adding artistic Hallowe'en decorations such as live bats and carved pumpkins with every flick.

Minato sighed, and after giving a short bow to Dumbledore, he vanished with a puff of smoke just before the large double doors swung open, letting in the morning crowd.

* * *

" Good job, everyone.Dumbledore looked pleased with you all." Minato smiled as he looked at the sleepy chuunins, who were all lying, pooped out on the couches in their quarters. Each of them gave weary smiles back in return.

" _Tea, sire?_" Tim asked helpfully as he placed several bowls of hot, freshly boiled rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, a broiled fish dish and a plate of tamagoyaki (omelette roll)- a typical Japanese breakfast requested by Minato- who claimed that healthy shinobis needed a good substantial breakfast, much to the chagrin of Obito.

Said Obito was currently stuffing his face as he gobbled down his rice, apparently too hungry too complain, partially because of skipping dinner last night. The other two only ate quietly, as they had no strength left to concentrate properly on what they were doing, absentmindedly wondering how Obito managed to have so much extra energy left in him.

Once everyone were done with the meal, they looked inquiringly at their sensei, who was still taking his own sweet time to eat, reading yet another fantasy novel as he did. Sheesh, how childish of him!

Sensing their gazes, Minato looked up. " What?" He asked artlessly. The three chuunins continued staring. Half sighing but half smiling at the same time, Minato got up, closing the book as he did so. He was rather proud of his students' conduct for the past few days, especially considering that this was their first time doing a S-ranked mission. " We are supposed to carry on guard duty for the rest of the day, and later, we will be needed at the evening feast again. Since you did a great job last night, I'll take over you for your morning duty, so you have up to eleven thirty to replenish your energies, alright?"

" Hai." They said listlessly, and headed to their respective bedrooms, hoping for a fruitful nap.

" So cute." Minato sighed as he sat down and picked up his chopsticks again. " Hmm…that potty guy should be having breakfast in the hall right now…so that means I'll still have some time to rest, considering how slow that kid takes to move around…now, where did I put that book…?"

* * *

" Stupid of them to think that they could outsmart Dumbledore's magic." Hermione said, shaking her head, watching bemusedly as Fred and George Weasely left the hall, blowing kisses to everyone on the way and pretending to hobble idiotically, though they looked rather mortified at their failure as well. " Oh look, there's Dean and Seamus over there, shall we go join them?"

Harry gave a shrug, but followed Hermione over to where the other two Griffindor fourth years were seated, apparently discussing about Hogwarts students of seventeen or over who might be entering.

" There's a rumor going round, that Warrington got up early and put his name in," Dean told Harry. " That big bloke from Slytherin who looks like a sloth."

Before Harry could give a reply, however, Seamus, who looked much more haggard then usual, cut in suddenly. " Him? Nah. He couldn't have."

" How d'you know?" Ron asked, helping himself to some French toasts. " Though I'd hate to have a Slytherin champion, he's of age, isn't he? Why can't he not?"

" Because," Seamus said impatiently, waving his spoon around to accentuate his point. " I was there wasn't I? In the Hall at night…dangling…"

" What did you say?" Hermione asked sharply. Seamus blushed and then he explained to the group about his little 'adventure' last night. Everyone stared in disbelief at him in silence after he had finished. As one, they bombarded him with loads of questions.

" You _attacked_ the guard?!"

" They caught you, disarmed you, and hanged you in two minutes flat?!"

" They're _muggles_?!"

Seamus nodded solemnly. " I got tied up tighter then all the others because I attacked the guard directly. I mistook him for the protection Dumbledore was talking about. It was a good try though. So I dangled there all the way until sunrise, when Dumbledore came to release us. But my point being, Warrington couldn't have come in early, or put his name in for that matter, as I was here the entire time."

There was a brief silence as everyone continues to stare at Seamus, making the boy squirm uncomfortably. Then, " Why didn't you invite us?!" Ron cried. " That was so damn cool! We missed the action, Harry!"

" You said that they were muggles, but how did they capture you in two minutes when you were throwing exploding cards and jinxes at them?" Hermione asked as she bit her toast, pondering on that Seamus had told her. No doubt about it now, Dumbledore wasn't as foolhardy enough as he seemed to hire these bizarre guards.

Seamus shrugged. " I was dark, I couldn't see well, but you should've seen them- they're like- wow! Millicent was already dangling there, whining all the way when I entered- so is a few other Ravenclaw. They caught Marcus too-"

Hermione's eyebrows raised a notch higher. " That's almost impossible! Marcus Belby and his gang? They have a high reputation of planning out efficient and almost fool-proof strategies, you know."

Seamus shrugged. " You can ask him later, though he'll probably not be happy discussing about it. He's the type that hates failure. He's not here right now, he headed to the common room as soon as we were released."

Everyone dived into their breakfast, and made small chat. Angelina Johnson apparently decided to join, and the Griffindors applauded her for that. Finally, Harry, Ron and Hermione left, wanting to pay a visit to Hagrid.

Hopefully, his fingers were still intact.

* * *

Minato crept into the hall, hair much more disheveled than usual. Hmm…now, where's the potty brat? He absently scanned the tables. Dumbledore had already left the hall, and was doubtlessly in his office. Most students were crowding around the Goblet, which had an age line around it already, so Minato didn't worry about it too much. With a pang of alarm and terror, the jonin realized that the tweedy looking boy, together with his two friends, weren't there. Well, _crap_.

Minato immediately shushin over to the Griffindor dormitories. Maybe, just maybe, the boy will be inside. The portrait of the fat lady looked down at him. " Password?"

Double crap. " Oh, not _you _again…" Minato looked at her frustratingly. " Erm…Open sesame?"

" Haha. Very funny, boy." She said, smiling roguishly. " Well, you know what to do if you want entry."

Minato glared at her, but knowing very well that he had no time to be arguing, looked around to check if anyone was within the vicinity, and then dropped down on his knees like in prayer, stared up at her with big, pleading eyes, and cried out his own personalized 'password' as dramatically as possible. "Oh lovely maiden from my dreams. Will you grant access to this humble man, unworthy of your presence? I beseech you to take mercy on me, my fate lies in your hands."

" Oh, you're still so charming after all these years, boy." The fat lady laughed girlishly at the shinobi before swinging herself open just a little bit for Minato to slid through undetected. He looked revolted at himself for actually saying what he had just said a few moments ago, slightly green in the face. _' Kushina is going to kill me when I get home…or worse, torture me before finishing me off…'_

Immediately shushin –ing up to the fourth year dormitories, taking note to be as quiet as possible, despite his hastiness. There was no need for that, as the room was completely devoid of any occupants. No Harry Potter either, not under the sheets, inside the chest, between the grill, within the books, _nowhere!_ _Gone!_

" Goddamit!" Minato shrieked, clutching his hair, panicking before he shushin off, heading back to the Great Hall.

* * *

Seamus, Dean, Lavender and Parvati were chatting quietly within themselves before one of the guard suddenly appeared beside them with a small poof of smoke, startling all four. Thank goodness everyone else was all too focused on the Goblet that no one realized what had just happened.

"Finnigan –_san_, was it?" He said, a bit quietly, obviously not wanting to attract other attention. His voice was a bit deep but had a kind edge in it.

Seamus stared at the guard, wide eyed. As did all the others. Seamus suddenly gave a shout. " Hey! I know you! You're the one who ordered for me to have double bindings- mrrrppfh!!"

" Shh!" The guard cried out, clamping the boy's mouth shut with his hand. " Do you want to let everyone know that I'm here?"

Dean blinked. " ..Are you supposed to be…elsewhere?"

" …Something like that." The blonde guard grunted. " Rather than that, does any of you know where Harry Potter went?"

" Hagrid's hut, why?" Parvati said, looking at the guard curiously. Her eyes widened in horror. " ..You're…you're not going to assisinate him, are you?"

" Of course not!" The guard said, looking appealed. Or at least, that's what it looked like to the others, the facemask was blocking the view. " Who'd ever want to kill off someone as useless as _that_? Hagrid's hut you say? Ok, thanks." With that, he vanished with a puff of smoke. The four of them stared at the spot where he had just vanished.

" I must be dreaming." Seamus finally said, looking shocked.

* * *

To Minato's great relief, the _gaki_ and his three friends were indeed there, inside the hut with what Minato recognized as the gargantuan gatekeeper of the school during his time here. Potty decided to make friends with him, huh? Strange kid.

Reassured now that the boy was located and appeared to still be in one piece, Minato hid his presence as he leant against the hard wooden walls of the hut, next to one of the windows, which gave him a nice view of the situation going on inside. The three of them were apparently eating something the giant cooked, which vaguely resembled a dead carcass of a vulture. Somehow, the giant had it grilled and managed to pass it on to the children as 'beef'. Which all of them ate, unknowingly.

" Sensei." Came a voice behind him, making Minato jump a bit, before realizing that it was only Kakashi, who came to take over for duty. Damnit, that kid always manages to find him, even when he was hidden. But then, Minato wasn't that adapt at hiding himself.

After taking a quick glance up at the sky, Minato realized that it was already twelve in the afternoon. " You're late." He said, trying to sound irritated. " And it's starting to rain."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. The first few drops of rain were starting to fall lightly from the sky, true to what Minato said. " Obito was supposed to take over for duty, but he overslept. I took over him instead. And I had trouble locating you- didn't know that you were out of the school grounds. Besides, you didn't realized it until I arrived, so don't complain. And, I had my waterproof uniform on."

" Fine." The jonin grumbled, going back to watching Harry.

" You don't want to retire?" Kakashi asked, masking his presence like his teacher and leaning onto the other side of the window. " I can handle this."

" Nah. Don't want to go inside the dingy castle." Minato said, enjoying the light rain. " I think I'm getting a little homesick..."

Kakashi looked at his teacher oddly before turning his attention back on the conversation inside. The wizards were apparently done with their meal, and were chatting idly within themselves. But it was the particular topic the were on that caught Kakashi's attention. House-elves. Kakashi glanced at the jonin. Minato looked just as absorbed in the conversation, but he had on a look of revulsion on his face.

It seems that the bushy haired girl wanted the giant to join in some ridiculous organization called S.P.E.W or something, shaking a tin at the giant, looking both determined and aggravated at the same time. Somehow, she reminded Kakashi of Rin. " But don't you pity them at all?" she was saying indigently. Minato twitched. "For countless of years they have been serving us humans without any complains, and yet we treat them for granted and yell at them, or punish them if they do something wrong… we should learn how to appreciate their hard work and give them pay, or reward them some times!"

" …The only reward I'll ever give to these baldheads are their coffins… who, in their right mind, would even give a damn about them?" Minato muttered. Kakashi mentally noted to never put Minato in Hermione's presence when she is having one of her house-elves rants.

" It'd be doin' ' em an unkindness, Hermione," the giant oaf named Hagrid said. " It's in their nature ter look after humans, that's what they like, see? Yeh 'd be makin' 'em unhappy ter take away their work, an' insultin'' em if yeh tried ter pay 'em."

At that, Minato nodded sagely. " That girl is definitely a muggle born…siding with house-elves…crackpot…"

He continued on like that, muttering to himself, as the shinobis watched Hermione throwing a little tantrum as the giant flat out refused to buy himself a badge. Kakashi's ears pricked slightly as he sensed a presence nearby. Minato, too absorbed in his little house-elf ranting, didn't seem to notice.

" Sensei…" Kakashi prodded Minato. " Someone's here…"

Minato looked up. " Hm? That's just Obito, most likely lost again. Go find him before he makes a ruckus, I have to go up and meet Dumbledore… to discuss several other mission issues… be sure to come at least five minutes earlier before the feast begins; need to take your positions, you know. Pass that on to your teammates, okay?" Saying so, Minato disappeared with the usual poof of smoke. Kakashi blinked as he tried to locate the other presence. To the right…

" Obito. Obito!" Kakashi called, as soft as possible. Obito blinked, and spotting Kakashi, teleported over.

" Where were you? _Teme_, I had a hard time finding you, _baka_!" Obito snarled.

" They left the school grounds. Had to follow." Kakashi said. They kept quiet like this for a while before Kakashi remembered Minato's message. He quickly relayed on to the Uchiha. After seeing Obito's nod of confirmation, he asked. " Where's Rin?"

" Still snoring away, the last I checked." Obito said carelessly. " You'd better go, pass it on…and wake her up."

" Too troublesome." Kakashi said, pricking his finger on one of the sharp nails sticking out of the hut's wood, drawing blood. After a few handseals and a muttered _'kuchiyose no jutsu'_ later, a small brown dog wearing a blue jacket appeared with a poof of smoke, holding up a paw.

" Yo, what's up?" He said. He looked around in confusion for a moment. " Where are we?"

" Hogwarts." Kakashi answered. " Pakkun, I need you to go inform Rin something…"

Obito watched boringly as Kakashi talked to his dog, looking like a freak, before something, which smelled like a rotting rafflesia entered his nostrils, choking him. He hurriedly looked inside the cabin, hands clamped tightly over his nose, to see what was going on.

" O-Obito, what's w-wrong?" Came the muffled and pained voice of Kakashi.

" Nothing much- the giant decided to spray on some strange liquid he called 'perfume'…" Obito said. He turned around and immediately had to hold back his laughter. Kakashi was green in the face and looked as though someone was suffocating him. The Hatake doubled over the ground when Hagrid came out of the hut, doubling-up the stench. Pakkun looked much more worse, lying flat on the floor, nose buried inside his paws and moaning away, looking as though he might pass out at any given second soon. Poor things.

" P-Pakkun…you'd better go first…it's getting l-late…" Kakashi gasped.

" Obliged to comply with, kid…" Pakkun chocked, before promptly vanishing with a poof, going to relay the message to Rin, and also to escape the stink.

To Kakashi's enormous relief, Hagrid splashed some water over himself, erasing most of the smell, but leaving a few lingering stenches behind. Spotting the Beauxbatons headmaster and her fairy airy students, Hagrid lumbered off to join them, looking simply captivated by the elongated headmaster.

" What a perfect pair…" Obito muttered in morbid fascination. " Nice combo they would make."

Kakashi groaned. " C-Can we go to the feast now…?"

Obito looked at his poor moaning teammate and grinned. " Of course."

* * *

Harry was feeling extremely excited. In fact, the whole school was. Perhaps the only ones who were not wetting themselves in anticipation were the Beauxbaton students and the Durmstrang students. Oh, and also the guards, who were exactly in their same position as they were in yesterday, two on each side. And as luck would have had it, the two were standing behind him again, just as they were yesterday.

But never mind about that now. It won't be long now…the Hogwarts champion is next…The Goblet's flames turned red…a piece of parchment shot out of it, Dumbledore deftly catching it…

" The Hogwarts champion," Dumbldore announced dramatically. " Is Cedric Diggory!"

" NOOOO!" Ron immediately cried out in anguish, though loud as it was, it went off unheard, besides Harry, Obito and Kakashi, that is. The entire yellow house were screaming and yelling and laughing away like manics, even the small choruses of 'boos' from the Slytherin's tables did not dampen their mood like the skies with a heavy storm outside.

Dumbledore gave another speech, but the Goblet, which had turned red and shot out yet another piece of parchment, soon interrupted it. The good cheerful mood was suddenly abated. Everyone was silent and awaiting yet again, though it was not a good one this time. Lighting flashed by, and thunder clashed a few seconds later. And Dumbledore called out for the fourth time. As luck would have had it…

" Harry Potter."

" Was this supposed to happen?" Obito muttered to Kakashi, who shrugged.

" I swear, that boy must've had a Kekkei Genkai that attracts unwanted attention. Amazing his ego isn't so high like Fukaku's or Hiashi's yet." Kakashi said.

" This just makes our job harder, doesn't it…" Obito said. Both boys gave a sigh as they saw Dumbledore's signal to follow him into the room; the old man was probably going to increase their workload.

_

* * *

_

Author's notes:

Chapter done! Took me quite a while, but there you have it! Surprisingly, this chapter is rather long- I was determined to end it at the part when Harry's name came out, so lucky you!

Just a few things you might want to take note of…Firstly, the shinobis can talk English now, though Obito's and Rin's are not that good. Unless their speech is indicated in _italics, _they talk English to Hogwarts occupations, excluding Dumbledore, and Japanese to themselves.

Secondly, yes, Minato did come to Hogwarts prequel to before this story took place, as mentioned in the earlier chapters. I might write it down sometime…maybe…

Thirdly, as I am sure you can see in the summary, there will absolutely be NO PAIRINGS for this fic, with the exception of Minato x Kushina, which is canon, by the way. So any hints you may find (I don't know how), yaoi or not, no matter how slight, is purely coincidental.

Lastly, thank you for reading this. Hoped you enjoyed the chapter and await the next.

Ja ne!


	5. The champions' squabble

_Disclaimer:_I don't own both Naruto and Harry Potter.

Enjoy:

_Chapter 5_

**The champions' quarrel (****チャンピオンの口論 ****)**

* * *

" _Harry Potter."_

" _Was this supposed to happen?" Obito muttered to Kakashi, who shrugged._

" _I swear, that boy must've had a Kekkei Genkai that attracts unwanted attention. Amazing his ego isn't so high like Fukaku's or Hiashi's yet." Kakashi said._

" _This just makes our job harder, doesn't it…" Obito said. Both boys gave a sigh as they saw Dumbledore's signal to follow him into the room; the old man was probably going to increase their workload._

_Joy._

* * *

Harry stumbled into the room where all the champions were gathered. His mind reeled. This wasn't supposed to happen! It was freakin' _unbelievable_! It was a mistake. A very BIG mistake. And no one even knows what had created it in the first place.

Three heads turned to look at him the moment he entered the room. " What is it?" Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons' champion asked, sounding a bit peeved at being disturbed. " Do zey want us back in ze hall?"

Harry couldn't unstick his tongue. He didn't know how to reply her. _' Urm, actually, I'm the FOURTH champion.'_ Right. That sounded extremely ridiculous. Thus, he just stood there, opening and closing his mouth, thinking of a way to politely explain himself and making it sound plausible at the same time. Which was an unachievable task. No words coherent enough to be comprehended came out of his mouth.

So to the _real_ champions, he actually resembled a gaping goldfish, staring at them with big, big eyes. It was unnerving. The large, round glasses that the Boy Wonder wore didn't really help his image much.

The awkward silence whereby everyone in the room was staring at each other was broken by the ever-so-energetic Ludo Bagman, where came bursting into the room, slamming the door back with a loud bang, making everyone wince at the loud noise. The said man who was practically bouncing on his heels headed straight towards Harry and clamped one of his hands tightly over poor Harry's shoulders.

" Absolutely extraordinary!" Ludo exclaimed, turning around to address the three confused looking champions. " Gentlemen…and lady, may I introduce- incredible though it may seem- the _fourth_ Triwizard Champion?" He announced with great aplomb. If Ludo was waiting a large amount of noise, or clapping for that matter, none came.

Immediately, three pairs of eyes zoomed and focused sharply onto him. Harry felt as if he was standing on a stage wearing only his underpants and having a spotlight shine down on him. Finally, Fleur clicked her tongue, drawing back all attention to her and saving Harry from his discomfiture.

Tossing back her glossy mane, which looked glossier than ever under the lighting of the flames from the fireplace in the room, Fleur Delacour smiled back at Bagman. " Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman. Hahaha."

" Yeah, 'cause I aren't laughing." Krum muttered. His voice rang out loudly throughout the confined room, room however. He had the decency to flush a bit, though slightly, at his previous words.

Cedirc, who was still looking confused, eased up a bit at those words, apparently convinced himself that this was all a very well placed gag. " Well, it was a pretty good try, sir." He smiled politely at Bagman.

" Joke?" Bagman repeated, looking shocked at the champions' thoughts. " Nononono, this isn't a joke! Harry Potter's name really came out of the Goblet!" He said, phrasing each word of his sentence carefully and slowly, as though he was talking to a toddler.

" But-But…" Cedric looked from Bagman to Harry, then to Bagman again. " This must be a mistake-"

" That is correct." Fleur said firmly. " Zis is _definitely_ a mistake. A boy as young as 'im should not be competing-"

" I'm not young-" Harry began protesting, but was cut off by Bagman.

" But since Harry's name came out of the Goblet, mistake or not, he will just have to participate with the best of his ability-" This time, Bagman was cut off by the door opening with another loud bang. Everybody who was in the room winced again.

Six more occupants added themselves into the room- Dumbledore, Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Crouch, McGonagall and lastly, Snape. With a flick of McGonagall's wand, the door snapped shut with a snap. Shadows in the room flickered under the dim lighting. And everyone one immediately pounced on the Boy Who Lived. Not literally, though. Verbally.

Madame Maxime drew herself to full height-, which was a very scary and dangerous thing to do in a small room such as this; the tip of her head actually brushed against the chandeliers which here dangling above, making it shake wobbly and perilously. Thankfully, the hot dripping candle wax did not fall onto any of them, or worse, light up Madame Maxime's head with its flames.

" What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?" She said crossly, pointing an opal-laden finger at Harry. Harry suddenly felt like he was a very dirty and offending dirt rag.

" This is the third time in…" Dumbledore glanced at his pocket watch. " Twenty hours, four minutes and fifteen seconds did someone say that to me." He said gravely. " Has that line become your opening line?"

" This is no time for jokes, Dumbledore!" Karkaroff snarled, though the corner of his lips twitched slightly. " I thought that only one champion for a school is allowed. And standing right now, in font of our eyes is Hogwart's second champion, _and_ he's underage to boot!"

" Zis is absolutely unacceptable, Dumbly-dorr!" Madame Maxime said, just a furious as the Drumstrang headmaster. " We 'ad expected a fair and just involvement from you, otherwise we wouldn't 'ave joined!"

" And not only is this your second champion, the _twit_ you have is also _under-age_!" Karkaroff added immediately after Maxime finished her rant. Harry twitched at the word '_twit'_. " Do you know how many eager underage students I have back in my school who are _waiting_ to get into this tournament?"

" You don't have to go around blaming Dumbledore, Karkaroff." Snape spoke up from the corner of the room, silkily. " I assure you, this is all Potter's fault. As far as I know, Potter has been crossing lines ever since he got here-"

" Keep quiet, Severus, you're making things worse." McGonagall snapped at her colleague. She turned back to the three squabbling headmasters and engaged the two irate ones in a heated debate on what is right and what is wrong. …Oops, that turned out a little…weird….

And thus, the debate went on, and on, and on…Harry answered a few questions on his part before the adults decided that he wasn't being to helpful with his answers and ignored him. So Harry went to stand with the rest of the other champions, looking lost and forlorn.

All the champions- official and unofficial- simply stood at the sidelines as they watched the adults duke it out. In the middle of it, Mad-Eye Moody entered the room, limping, and creating a bigger mess out of things than before. The topic had suddenly switched to how the Goblet was duped, and _then_ about how a very powerful person was trying to assassinate Harry. …Right. Like we all didn't know about that before. Good job, Moody.

Finally, Dumbledore decided to open his mouth and wrap things up. " How this situation arouse, we do not know." He said firmly. " But what we do know is that all our champions need their beauty sleep, and that both Cedric and Harry will have no choice but to compete."

" Ah, but Dumbly-dorr-" Madame Maxime began, but was cut off by Dumbledore. Apparently, the old wizard had enough of the useless squabbling, and had decided to conclude the entire affair.

" My dear Madame Maxime, if you have another alternative, then I would be more than delighted to hear it." Madame Maxime however, did not say anything, but chose to glare at him instead. Karkaroff did the same. Dumbledore serenely continued his speech, seemingly immune to their glares. " I have however, another alternative. May I speak?"

" …Sure. No problem." Karkaroff said through clenched teeth. " Speak all you want. Are you going to suggest that Hogwarts should have yet another champion, or that you'll have clues given to aid the brat? Or that the two Hogwarts champions-"

" Actually, I was thinking that each of the champions should have a guide of their own. Courtesy of Hogwarts, of course." Dumbledore said blandly.

" –Split the prize money and- _what_?" Karkaroff broke off and looked at Dumbledore.

" Minato." Dumbledore spoke sharply. The said jonin immediately appeared, crouched down obediently on one knee, at Dumbledore's side. " Hai."

" Gosh, stop doing that!" Bagman cried, clutching his heart. " Appearing out of thin air like that without a sound…I have a weak heart you know."

"You all remember Minato, I'm sure?" Dumbledore said politely. Everyone in the room gave affirmative grunts. Some just nodded tensely, too shock to produce much noise.

"…And what are you going to do with him?" Karkaroff said, looking interested now.

" Minato here has three students. I propose _lending_ each one to a champion. They can guide them through each task. Aid them. And also, throughout the task, protect them at the same time if anything goes awry." Dumbledore said pleasantly. " How does that sound?"

" Three students? So will the Harry brat be without one?" Karkaroff said thoughtfully. " That sounds like a plan."

" Actually, I was thinking of getting another one for Harry himself." Dumbledore said. " And I assure you, I'll get someone of the same level. And to equal things out, Harry's guide will only protect him during his task. He will not be there to aid him." Dumbledore turned to Minato. " I will discuss the payment details with out later. That is alright with you, right?"

" Of course, Dumbledore-sama." Minato said smoothly.

" Excellent." Dumbledore beamed. He turned to the rest. " Any problems with you?"

" No. It is a brilliant idea." Karkaroff muttered. Madame Maxime grudgingly nodded her approval.

" But of course, zere will be limit as to how much zis…guards can 'elp ze champions, is there right?" She said doubtfully.

" That is correct." Dumbledore said cheerfully. He turned to crouch. " I was hoping that Barty would set the limit yourself. And you could explain the first task to our champions while you're at it."

Mr. Crouch seemed to have come out of a deep reverie. " …Yes, " He said. " I think that aid will be acceptable if all champions have one of equal standard each and that the headmasters are willing. Yes…that should be fine."

" …Very good." Dumbledore said. " And their limits, if you please…"

" …Limits?" Crouch repeated, a frown on his face. There was a long pause. Everyone stared at him and waited for him to continue. Finally, he spoke up again. " I would think that the only limit is that the guards would not be able to partake in any fights, or aid his or her champion physically, unless the champion himself or herself is in danger of dying. And that they would not be able to totally help his or her champion solve the clue, only being able to offer hints or advice."

" Meaning that the appointed guard is nothing but for show?" Karkaroff said appalled. " If they can't help out…physically, then what are they for? We might as well give each of the champions a talking hat each instead!"

" Don't say that, Karkaroff." Dumbledore said pleasantly. " If you look on the brighter side, the guards are very experienced when it comes down to strategies and planning, so I'd say that that's a start itself. They might even suggest what the champions should train on. And better yet, Harry's guard won't even have enough time to offer tips to him, having only arrive the day before the task commences. And with each task, his guard will change, so its no use trying to send letters back and forth during the intervals."

Harry's heart dropped at that. Dumbledore is only making his life worse!

" Well…" Madame Maxime said. " It zis a deal then, Dumbly-dorr. May we have a look at zey guards?"

" Of course you may." Dumbledore said. He turned to the stone-like jonin. The jonin had been so quiet during the entire discussion that everyone else almost forgot that he was there. One might even mistake him as a statue, or a wall decoration. " Minato?"

Minato nodded. " Kakashi, Rin, Obito. Show yourselves." Immediately, three figures dropped down from- Harry looked up- the ceiling?!- Gracefully landed lightly on the carpeted floor and crouched down low behind Minato, in a similar position as the jonin was in.

" Well, here they are." Dumbledore said cheerfully, turning to the adults. " How do you find them?"

" Stop freakin' doing that!" Bagman cried. " Of all the bloody places you could emerge from- a flowerpot or under a carpet- don't _drop_ from the _ceiling_!"

" Zat was _childish_." Fleur snorted.

" I thought it was kind of cool, actually." Cedric said sheepishly. Krum grunted.

" Well?" Karkaroff demanded. " Introduce yourselves."

" Dumbledore-sama?" One of the students, the only girl in the group, everyone noted, inquired.

" My apologies, Karkaroff." Dumbledore said to the Drumstrang headmaster. " They only listen to me." He turned back to the waiting Shinobis. " You may speak."

" Rin at your service." The girl said simply, giving a short bow.

" Kakashi." One of the boys- who had _white_ hair- spoke up next, repeating the formers actions.

" Obito." The last boy said, repeating his teammates' actions, though with a bit more verve then them.

" Well Maxime, Karkaroff?" Dumbldore said pleasantly. " Pick your choice. I'll take the remaining one- don't worry, I'm flexible."

" Then I'll take ze middle one." Madame Maxime said graciously. " The one with ze funny 'air."

Karkaroff shrugged. " The other boy's fine with me. Yeah. That one with a durian head. I'm not particularly choosy."

" Then Cedric will go with Rin." Dumbledore said pleasantly. He turned to the last champion. " Harry, I'll get one more for you later. You'll meet him…or her, the day before you get your task, is that alright?"

" Yes." Harry mumbled. He was kind of depressed, actually. The other champions did have an edge over him. And he didn't want to go into the Tournament in the first place. He didn't really have a choice of his own, did he? It's always '_Harry, do this_' and '_Harry, do that'. _Harry seethed silently inside. Bah!

" Wait, don't go to bed yet! Barty, the first task's rules!" Bagman exclaimed. " How could you forget them? The rules, old man!"

Harry, together with the other champions, listened fervently as Mr. Crouch explained to them the rules, hoping to get some sort of clue…a hint that will guide them…but there was none. Crouch did not reveal anything in particular about the task. Harry decided there and then that he was doomed to be last. As an embarrassment to the whole school.

Everyone hurriedly dispersed after that, eager to plot out their evil sabotaging plans or otherwise get some good sleep. Crouch looked as though he needed some badly- the man looked like he could drop dead on his feet at any given moment.

Just as Harry was about to exit himself together with Cedirc, Dumbledore called out to him. " Harry, a moment of your time, if you please."

Harry looked uncertainly at Cedric. The latter gave a nonchalant shrug and a halfhearted attempt at a smile- at least, what _looked_ like a smile- which he took as a go ahead. He gave an apologetic glance before heading back into the dingy, poorly lighted room.

Since most of the people left already, the room's occupants had dwindled from a good sixteen to only eight, counting Harry himself. Dumbledore's weird guards (who had abandoned their previous positions and were standing straight now), Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, and Dumbledore. Snape apparently left too, in all his uncontained, oily anger.

'_Well, good for him'_ Harry thought bitterly. He had a good hunch that Dumbledore was now going to question him thoroughly. " Sir, I don't want-" Harry began, trying to explain himself again, but was cut short as Dumbledore held up his hand to signal silence.

Dumbledore smiled at Harry. " I understand what you're trying to say, Harry, but nothing can ever change the fact that your name did came out of the Goblet. Thus, I have assigned them-" He waved his hand towards the shinobis "-to ensure your safety."

" Them?" Harry goggled. " B-but they're-"

" People are not limited only to one job, Harry. That's why there's something called _multi-tasking_." Dumbledore said, winking at him. Harry wondered how the old man managed to guess what he was trying to say every single time. It kind of irked him out.

" They are an exceptional group of foreign wizards from Asia, specializing in protection, and I hired them to take care of any dangers from this school." Dumbledore continued. " I had a hunch that this Triwizard Tournament business will not go as smoothly as expected…and I was right, straight from the beginning of it all."

" Why me?" Harry mumbled. " Why is it always me?"

" It's not your fault Harry, but people always seem to _misunderstand_ the concept on how the curse backfired on Voldermort. They seem to think it was _your_ power that drove the Dark Lord back." Dumbledore said.

" And a very stupid misconception it was too." Mad-eye added.

" Yes, thank you, Alastor." Dumbledore said, pointedly hinting that the other should let Dumbledore do all the talking. Moody did as he was told, though a bit grudgingly. " Now as I was saying, you are not to blame for this incident. We cannot stop it from happening altogether, but we can, at the most, prevent the worst of it from happening."

" With the guards?" Harry asked hopefully.

" They will- at least one of them- keep watch over you twenty four seven." Dumbldore said. " They are, however, prohibited to telling you any hints, advice, guides- whatever- they know about the oncoming Triwizard tasks. Their job is just ensuring your safety. You, in turn, is not suppose ask them for help or guidance. Do you understand?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry nodded an affirmative. Dumbledore continued. " And there is one more thing I must make myself clear with." He paused, staring briefly Harry with serious clear blue eyes before continuing. " You must keep the real identity of your guards a secret, especially from the other champions." He paused as he pondered over something for a while before snapping back to Harry. " But you may tell Miss Granger and Mr. Weasely if you want to, as long as they too agree not to tell anyone else."

" What? But sir, they-" Harry began, but Dumbledore interrupted him.

" Kakashi, Rin and Obito will be posting as students." Dumbledore said. " Transfer students from Asia. They will be able to keep a closer distance within you. You will keep their real identities a secret."

" But their-"

" You think Dumbledore-sama's stupid?" The black haired guard said, sounding irritated. " We're all fourteen. So we'll all be in the same year, and same class as you." He paused, and then gave a glance at the man- Minato-Harry recalled. " Besides Minato-sensei, that is."

" Obito, play nice with your new friend." Minato chided. Harry could tell that the blond haired man was smiling beneath his mask. He turned and nodded at Harry as the black hair boy- Obito- grunted and crossed his arms huffily. " They'll meet you in class for lessons tomorrow." He said kindly.

" S'allright." Harry mumbled to Dumbledore. The last thing he had ever wanted was guards trailing after him. He had a good dose of the experience last year, and to say that it was pleasant wasn't the most truthful thing. " Honestly, I can take care of myself. I don't need bodyguards."

" Says you." Obito snorted. " The old man already paid us, so we'll just have to stick close to you for the entire year, whether you like it or not."

Harry bristled. He drew himself to full height- which isn't saying much, since he isn't as high as Madame Maxime. " You're the same age as me." He shot. " I can take care of myself just as much as you can."

" I doubt it." Obito said, a hint of boredom had just entered his voice.

" You-"

" If that is all, you can save your greeting for tomorrow." Dumbledore smiled. " The teachers know of they're presence, so you don't have to worry about that. I'm sure you want a good night's sleep now, Harry."

" Obito, look at what you did. You scared him away." The only girl, Rin (if Harry remembered correctly) scolded her teammate. The remaining boy, Kakashi (leaving that name the only one left), snorted something like '_dumbass'_.

It did not go unnoticed by Obito however. " Like you're the one to talk," Obito glowered at Kakashi, all hint of ennui gone now. " You were agreeing with me just a split second ago, mister _funny hair_."

Now it was Kakashi's turn to scowl. " You are supposed to learn how to put up with these kind of people. Cooperation and tolerance with the clients is essential for the success of the mission." Kakashi paused. " _Durian head_."

" Guys, shut up." Rin said as Obito opened his mouth to retort. " Act, you know, _nice_ in front of your client. Good first impressions and all."

Both boys rolled their eyes at her at that. " Yes, miss _leftover_."

" Leftover?" Rin repeated, incredulous. She rolled up her sleeves, readying a fist. " That's it. No more nice pretenses. I'll show you who exactly are the abandoned ones here." She snapped. The two boys did not cower like Harry thought they would (or rather, should) but welcome the challenge instead, sliding into their usual defensive pose as a reply.

" Okay guys. You've all been teammates for _… four years_ already, act nicely towards each other, okay?" Minato sighed. " Be good children and listen to your _sensei_ when he tells you to."

" Shut up, _Mina-chan_-_sensei_." The three of them said simultaneously. But nevertheless, they all relaxed and got back into their usual positions obediently.

" You're all going to do ten laps around the entire castle as morning exercise tomorrow." Minato said irritably, giving Obito's ear a hard twist. His angry demeanor vanished, to be replaced with a kind yet slightly exasperated expression as he turned to look at Harry. " We'll reintroduce ourselves- properly- when we meet you tomorrow."

" O-Okay." Harry said, not sure of what to say next, or rather what to make of their previous conversation. That sounded so childish, but at the same time, very _human_. He decided that he should just end it right here and now before another squabble could start." I-I'll just make a move then." Saying so, he hurriedly- and rather clumsily- exited the room, eager to get back to his own comfortable dormitory, for a fitful good night's sleep. Maybe after a short recount of the day's weird happenings with Hermione and Ron. Because, after all, today had been a very long day. A _veeeeeery_ long and weird day.

He didn't know that it could get longer the moment he stepped foot into the Gryffindor common room. But contrary to that, it actually did.

* * *

" So what do you think of him?" Dumbledore asked the shinobis. " Interesting, I presume?"

" I think he's a prat." Obito said hotly.

" …Besides him being a prat then." Dumbledore said.

" I find him alright. Nothing too extraordinary. Plain. Simple." Rin said.

" May I change the subject to another one which is much more…pressing?" Kakashi asked, frowning his brow. " The current one kind of sickens me, to tell you the truth."

" You may." Dumbledore said. " Though I must say, tonight's events are very unpredicted."

" Totally out of the blue." Kakashi agreed dryly. " Since when did we agree that we'll be aids for the other champions as well?"

" I was wondering when you'd bring that matter up." Dumbledore sighed wearily. He surveyed the shinobis. " You will not accept it then?"

" No, but-" Obito began but was cut of by Minato.

" Of course we'll accept it, Dumbledore-sama." Minato said firmly. " As long as you make the necessary agreements and payments with Hokage-sama, then it is absolutely fine with us."

" Sensei, what are you-" Rin began, wide-eyed and staring at her mentor. As did the other two.

" We need the money." Minato told his bewildered team tightly. He sighed, and then turned to face Dumbledore. " Hokage-sama clearly trusts you, so I'm sure he wouldn't object if I tell you this, but the others-" Minato broke off and gave a weary glance at the two other teachers in the room.

" Very well." Dumbledore inclined his head slightly. " Minerva- Moody, if you would please excuse us for a few minutes…"

" Of course, Dumbledore." McGonagall said curtly, as she immediately headed out of the room, half-pushing Mad-eye Moody out along with her- the latter seemed reluctant to leave the conversation. The large doors closed with a snap and Dumbledore immediately placed several charms over it to prevent people from ears dropping- or for Moody's case- peeping.

" You may speak now." Dumbledore said at last.

" Yeah, why can't we reject the mission?" Obito grunted.

" It's because of the war, isn't it, sensei?' Kakashi spoke up quietly. " The war that is going to break out between Konoha, Iwa and Kumo."

" How did you know about that?" Rin asked. " I thought you said that ears dropping was _below_ you and undignified?"

" It couldn't help the fact that I am a _shinobi_." Kakashi snorted. " Things like these don't just go off unnoticed. I heard that Konoha has raised the bounty for several S-class Kumo and Iwa-nins."

" …You just be joking!" Obito gave an uneasy laugh. "At a time like this, where Konoha's just regrouping itself from the second war? It's just not-"

" Kakashi is right, Obito." Minato said quietly, silencing both Rin and Obito. The features on their faces only displayed pure shock, even under their masks', while Kakashi's remained unreadable. Minato sighed ruefully. " Jiraiya-sensei even said that it might be the start of the Third Great Shinobi war."

" …The… _Third_…?" Obito whispered. " At a time like this? _Why_?"

" There is no 'why'." Minato said. " We are _shinobi_. Battle, assassination missions and war are _essential_ to carry on this live hood. As long as we are around, cheap pretences and meaningless treaties or exchanges are worthless. We exist to fight- to kill."

" Yeah, but-" Rin protested.

" You know that yourself, Rin." Kakashi said. " Shinobi like us _live_ for wars. We are tools. Weapons. What good is a weapon in a time of peace? If war didn't exist, we will only be placed on the shelf, abandoned, and left to rust."

" So you're saying that war is a good thing?" Obito asked bitterly. His voice sounded choked. " That the fact that Iwa and Kumo are planning war against us is the greatest miracle that could have ever had happened to Konoha?"

" I'm not saying that war is good, Obito." Minato said. He smiled at the young Uchiha, ruffling up the boy's spiky black hair affectionately. " But the life of shinobi is never about peace and joy and stuff like that. That's why we'll accept the mission." The jonin turned to Dumbledore. " Konoha needs a lot of funds right now. Even if it's only a little amount, even a penny- I'll do it. If it can help in the protection of Konoha, then I'll willingly accept it."

" Konoha is lucky to have someone as dedicated as you in their ranks." Dumbledore smiled. " I doubt that I can do anything much for your people in the war though. Besides adding more missions into your workload, that is. If there is anything which I could help you with…"

" That is more than enough." Minato said truthfully. " Though it's true that we need more money more than ever, it's also a fact that Konoha is a proud village. We do not accept anything more than generous. And I think you also have your hands tied up yourself too, Dumbledore-sama. With all this Triwizard business and the Potter kid."

" Indeed." Dumbledore laughed. " I will arrange the mission details with your Hokage then. You'll have a lot of stuff to be doing tomorrow, so I suggest that you'll sleep in early tonight?"

" Okay." Minato said, ushering his students out of the room and back into the now empty hall. " We'll take out leave then."

All four were gone with a few hand seals and a poof of smoke.

* * *

_Author's notes:_

Pretty useless chapter. All talk and no action at all…GOMENASAI! IT HAD TO BE DONE! I promise I'll give you much more exciting scenes for the next one, so stay tuned. It had a bit of Harry bashing. Sorry. Couldn't resist. Not too much of team Minato over here, eh? Sad...

And can you guys please show signs that there are actually _people_ _reading_ this thing? Garrh. At least favorite or alert it if you don't want to review. Or tell me how I should improve on it if you hate a particular part of the fic. I had absolutely no motivation to write after what you did to me for the last chapter. Maybe that's why this one took so long to come out. Hehe.

…Ja for now. Hope you await the next chapter.


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